Bush Rips Obama Over "Embracing Tyrants"

Without directly mentioning his name, President Bush took a broad swipe at Sen. Barack Obama during his news conference on Thursday, equating Obama's willingness to talk with foreign leaders (both allied and adversarial) to "embracing" tyrants.

The topic of conversation centered on what U.S. policy to Cuba should be in the aftermath of Fidel Castro handing control of the island to his brother Raul. Taking what appeared to be particular pride in having never negotiated with America's enemies, Bush said:

"[Meeting with Raul] will send a discouraging message to those who wonder whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners. It will give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and human dignity. I'm not suggesting there's never a time to talk, but I'm suggesting now is not the time not to talk with Raul Castro."

Dispensing the confusion over what time, exactly, would be appropriate, the reporter who asked the question reminded Bush that no one is saying the U.S should embrace Raul Castro but merely engage the new leader. The president conceded the point, only to ridicule the concept of negotiating-with-your-enemies as "embracing" tyrants once more.

"Sitting down at the table -- having your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains a lot from it by saying, 'look at me, I'm now recognized by the President of the United States.' Now, somebody will say, well, I'm going to tell him to release the prisoners.

Well, it's a theory that all you got to do is embrace and these tyrants act. That's not how they act. That's not what causes them to respond. So I made a decision quite the opposite, and that is to keep saying to the Cuba books people, we stand with you. We will not sit down with your leaders that imprison your people because of what they believe. We will keep an embargo on you. We do want you to have money from people here in the homeland, but we will stay insistent upon this policy until you begin to get free."

For reference, here's what Obama said about meeting with Raul Castro during the Democratic debate in Austin, Texas on Feb. 22:

OBAMA:Now, keep in mind that the starting point for our policy in -- in Cuba should be the liberty of the Cuban people. And I think we recognize that that liberty has not existed throughout the Castro regime. And we now have an opportunity to potentially change the relationship between the United States and Cuba, after over half a century.

I would meet without preconditions, although Senator Clinton is right that there has to be preparation. It is very important for us to make sure that there was an agenda and on that agenda was human rights, releasing of political prisoners, opening up the press. And that preparation might take some time.

But I do think that it is important for the United States not just to talk to its friends but also to talk to its enemies.

In fact, that's where diplomacy makes the biggest difference. (Applause.)

One other thing that I've said as a show of good faith, that we're interested in pursuing potentially a new relationship, what I've called for is a loosening of the restrictions on remittances from family members to the people of Cuba as well as travel restrictions for family members who want to visit their family members in Cuba. And I think that initiating that change in policy as a start and then suggesting that an agenda get set up is something that could be useful, but I would not normalize relations until we started seeing some of the progress that Senator Clinton talked about. [...]

I do think it is important, precisely because the Bush administration has done so much damage to American foreign relations, that the president take a more active role in diplomacy than might have been true 20 or 30 years ago.

Because the problem isn't -- is if we think that meeting with the president is a privilege that has to be earned, I think that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world at this point in time, and I think that it's important for us, in undoing the damage that has been done over the last seven years, for the president to be willing to take that extra step. That's the kind of step that I would like to take as president of the United States.

Comments

[EyeWantOneNation]

By the time Barack Obama is sworn in as President, it will be one year later with the Raul regime in Cuba. Things may or may not look the same there as it does today.

I'm sure Obama can be trusted to do the right thing...which is more than we can say about the current administration !!!!

[delsop]

And the NY Philharmonic just played a concert in NORTH Korea. Did the W not designate that country as one of the axis of evil? ?????And some US citizens who have parents still living in Cuba need to wait 3 years before they can visit!
Somemore stupid foreign policy screwups from this know-nothing administration.

[prscnt1]

Madboy only wish that Obama to embrace the first tyrant of the USA, the madby himself, the poodle of fatbastard cheney...

[rich3324]

Somebody tell me why Cuba is the bad commie, while China is the good commie. China does have the worst human right record, sells weapons to anyone and has the bomb.

[jukesgrrl]

Chinese-Americans don't contribute enough money to the RNC.

[ladygreenslippers]

How could Bush say that?! Barack has repeatedly denounced George Bush!

[psfurlong356]

My idea: demystify the words by rendering them harmless. Be proactive. We say "there's nothing wrong with the name Hussein (means handsome in Arabic) but there is something wrong with race baiting and fear mongering in a political campaign." I love the name Hussein it's as common as "Dave" or "Bob" Barack Bob Obama ;)

[Felicty]

Shut the fuck up, you filthy drunken toad of a man. America does not care for anything you have to say,

Just fade away, asshole.

Sir.

[magen]

Bush just returned from Saudi Arabia where he was hugging his tyrant monarchy buddies.

Bandar Bush

[Cedman]

I just glanced at the posts on this blog and have good news to report:
He IS a uniter-mission accomplished!

[patriotscholar]

This is disgusting. This man, who cannot put two words together properly, and obviously cannot reason or think for himself, is so far out there as to defy any semblance of normal behavior. Most people that act like this are locked up in asylums. He really does not get it.

The bad part is, we can't seem to get rid of him.

[desertdweller]

Bush accuses Barack of being naive with regard to al-Qaeda in Iraq. I thought we had defeated them, that they were in their last throes... Is Bush saying that we didn't? I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not going to stand by ans listen to Bush badmouth our troops...because if you badmouth our troops, you are badmouthing the American Way, Moether, and Apple Pie! Make the pie higher!

[Obamacan]

I just want my Cuban cigars without having to go thru canada. Obama 08.

[patriotscholar]

Why Mr. Bush, I have never seen Barack Obama embracing you!

[midtown]

Bush opened his press conference saying we have to take care of people overseas. With the mess at home, this man is tone deaf, bordering on brain dead. People pay their taxes for services and assistance here. First.

[JMorgan]

You mistakenly think that Bush is speaking to you, to any of us regular work-a-day Americans.

When he says "We have to take care of people overseas", he's speaking to the upper class in America. The people overseas will be the workers replacing us, working for a fraction of what we make. Most of us don't realize this because it's unfathomable. If true and taken to its logical conclusion, wouldn't that mean America would be like those third world countries indebted to the IMF, World Bank (extreme poverty for most, shanty towns with gangs of children living on the streets of inner cities, with tiny enclaves of wealth in lush, gated communities)? How can that be? If we don't have jobs, what's America going to look like, be like? What's to become of us, and surely that couldn't happen overnight?


Our parents and grandparents who went through the Depression would tell you it could. The Jews of WWII Europe would tell you it could happen in the blink of an eye. Most of us are overextended, living on credit and the equity borrowed against our homes. We could be out of a job, out of our homes and on the street in a matter of weeks. To the extent that angry voters matter only on election day, if Bush has taught us nothing else it's that once in office it doesn't matter how angry the people are. He can and will and does do what he wants to do.


Once you figure out the definitions of Bush-speak, you realize that he's not a liar. He does exactly what he says, except it doesn't look like what we thought it would look like or turn out as we expected because we assumed his words had certain meanings. We've been tilting at windmills because many among us still haven't caught on to that fact. After you catch on, the question becomes one of will. What are you going to do about it?


Seven years and counting, nobody's done a thing. History has a way of repeating itself when it comes to human nature. By the time that the Jews in WWII Europe realized what was happening, it was too late.

[JUSTME]

Right, you goddamned MORON!

Talking to Cuba is embracing tyrants, but selling the US out to Communist China is WHAT????

These morons make absolutely no sense. They punish a teeny tiny little island off the coast of Florida for having the audacity to throw thieving American corporations and the MAFIA out of their country, but everything is okey-dokey with China just as long as China continues to subsidize this asshole's illegal war in Iraq.

How many more days until this snow-monkey ass-clown gets one the bus back to Crawford with his trashy wide and daughters?