Wednesday, March 21, 2007

John McCain Gets All Old-Timey In His Foreign Policy Speeches

John McCain, in a speech to veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion, warned against the creeping tide of socialism in Latin America. His examples--Hugo Chavez, Castro, and Evo Morales.

Now, attacking Castro is old hat and silly at this point, but whatever. Attacking Chavez--well, I don't agree but he's an easy target. But it's McCain's slam on Evo Morales that makes me angry. First, Morales hasn't even had a chance to prove anything yet. McCain is going back to an old-time version of US-Latin American relations when any leader who tried to improve the quality of life for his people, at even the tiniest expense to US interests, was overthrown. Morales wants to legalize coca production. Good for him. If the US really wants to stop cocaine use, let's work on the demand. It's not as if Morales is planning on flooding American streets with oceans of cocaine as part of a socialist plot to overthrow capitalism and democracy.

But John McCain might believe he is. And while it is bad enough that US politicians still pander to the Miami Cubans, actually speaking for an audience of Bay of Pigs veterans is way over the top.

Each and every day, John McCain demonstrates how much he sucks.