Jan 26/05 - On Chavez's crude attack on Dr. Rice

PMB Comment: Below select excerpts from the transcript of President Chavez's speech on Sunday in which he nonchalantly and crudely offends U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Hugo Chavez once again demonstrated to the world the need for an International Mental Board on constant notice to deal with leaders that were elected sane and became cuckoo while in power. PMB

PS: the non-sequiturs are vintage Chavez

Transcript:

March in Defense of Sovereignty

Public gathering in front of Miraflores Palace (CARACAS)

Sunday, February 23rd, 2005

President Chávez: We've seen during these last few days, dances and lavish
parties in Washington, celebrating the new mandate of Mister Bush, now
accompanied by a new secretary of State, 'la mister' Condolence (sic) Rice,
Condolence Rice. I'm sorry that I could not have sent her ... Fidel, send me,
please, the (literacy) method ... so that I can send it "in english" to Condolence Rice, I didn't send it to her before, I forgot, for all the work one has to do, because she continues to demonstrate complete ignorance in relation to what is happening in Venezuela and what is happening in the world and what is happening in Latin America.

Public: Applause.

President Chávez: It was recommended to me a while back that in the case of
Condolence Rice, who said a few days ago... First it was said that she was
very troubled.

Public: ¡Uh! ¡Ah! Chávez is not going to go. ¡Uh! ¡Ah! Chávez is not going
to go.

President Chávez: First it was said that she was very troubled...by Chávez, the tyrant Chávez, the leader ("caudillo"), that he is a threat to the people of the world and of America. Afterwards, the following day, they asked her, it seems that she dreams about me, - I'm told that in La Hojilla (note: he refers to a crude political program in VTV the State channel, which takes after an equally crude Alo Ciudadano in Globovision, an opposition tilted all news channel) a poll was taken, - here are the boys from La Hojilla- how are you? In La Hojilla, they took a poll, they asked some questions there and among them they asked: What is with Condolence and Chávez? And I'm not going to give the results here, but in La Hojilla they could repeat it tomorrow.

Public: Screams, uproar.

President Chávez: Look, even though she is Secretary of State of that

imperialistic government and it is up to Doctor Alí Rodríguez (Venezuela's Foreign Minister) to get together with her, I am willing to invite her to a meeting to see. What's up with you and I, then? Let's fix that, let's see.

Public: Applause.

President Chávez: Do you want me to invite her? I'll do what you tell me. A
little while back someone recommended: "Look, why don't you propose
marriage to her to see it that fixes things?" Should I propose marriage to
her?

Public: Noooooo.

President Chávez: What bad luck this lady has! You said No.
Well, truthfully she first said that she was very troubled, the next day,
she changed, it would be good if this were anlyzed by a good psychiatrist,
because the following day they asked her and what she said was that she was
not troubled, no, now she was very sad. Oh daddy! That she was very sad and
depressed by Chávez, that tyrant. Afterwards she came to say that Chávez is
a negative force in the Continent....

President Chávez: ... The future is yours, Ché Guevara would say! The
present is a struggle, the future belongs to us and above all it belongs to
you, you are the vanguard of the new Venezuelan medicine, this upcoming 3rd
of February. That's why I tell you that I cannot marry Condolence, because I
have too much work, she'll have to find other options, she'll have to forget
about me a bit. Alí Rodríguez could do it, Cristóbal Jiménez is there,
available; well, Juan Barreto is single; another could make that sacrifice
for the fatherland, ask me whatever else you want, don't ask me that.
Nicolás Maduro, Pedro Carreño...

Public: Applause.

...

(Translation adapted from one prepared by SH, thanks to RM)