Pat's Real Mistake
The Post makes an interesting point in today's editorial:
Despite the retraction, Robertson's remark remains a precious gift to Chavez, giving credence to his "America is out to get me" line, which enhances his reputation among poor Venezuelans.It's amazing the level of outrage over this comment considering:
- Robertson is an individual citizen speaking his mind. What ever happened to unconditional free speech and celebrating "patriotic" dissent?
- Chavez is a Marxist thug friendly with Iran and Cuba
3 Comments:
Chavez is no doubt a bad guy, and Robertson's not quite a mainstream conservative, either. But while he is an individual and is entitled to free speech, as a relatively famous talking head and former candidate for president, his remarks are taken more seriously than if he were some guy off the street. The issue isn't whether or not Robertson can say what he wants, but that is was extremely irresponsible of him to say what he did. If I stood on a soapbox in Union Square and yelled that we should assassinate Chavez, nobody would blink an eye, but when Robertson says it, on national TV no less, the State and Defense Depts have to call press conferences to deny that he's speaking for US policymakers. That just comes with the territory of being a famous pundit/preacher.
By Tim McGuire, At 2:17 PM EDT
But besides that--I agree with the Post, Robertson's real mistake was in fueling the fire.
By Tim McGuire, At 2:34 PM EDT
I think it's slightly different than just fueling the fire. I think the problem is the change in focus from Venezuela's problem with Chavez to America's problem with Robertson-- a much less important if more interesting, the way a train wreck is interesting, problem.
By Ben Polidore, At 3:04 PM EDT
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