Conflicting Reports from Venezuela

When Bill Delahunt returned from his meeting with Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, in Caracas last Thursday, SEE STORY he indicated that he and Chavez had shared a "very positive and constructive conversation. To wit:

Delahunt, who has visited with Chavez previously, says he came away from the meeting at the presidential palace on Thursday night "feeling better about the possibilities between the United States and Venezuela."

Moreover,

The congressman won’t speculate about the possibility of an eventual Chavez-Obama meeting. But he says there is a desire on Obama’s part "to have a good relationship" and says he’s confident Chavez also wants good relations.

Based on this assessment, it came as a bit of a surprise, a few days later, when Chavez, speaking on his Sunday TV broadcast, called the U.S. president an "ignoramus". SEE STORY This comment was presumably an amplification of the comments he made in an Al Jazeera interview on Friday where he bemoaned Obama's lack of knowledge of Latin American affairs. He also cited similar remarks made by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio da Silva after a March 14th meeting with Obama in Washington. SEE STORY

For those of us here in the Massachusetts 10th Congressional District concerned about all the time and effort that our congressman spends courting this unbalanced despot, we had at least hoped that those efforts might have made at least a small contribution to toning down the Premiere's toxic, anti-American rhetoric. Given the discrepancy in the above reports, we are now wondering at Bill's diplomatic skills. And maybe, Bill should just spend more time tending the business of the Massachusetts 10th, and leave the international work to the Foggy Bottom crew.