Diplomacy is hard sometimes

November 2, 2007 This morning in a speech in Dallas, a reporter asked Vice President Cheney about his views on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Cheney responded that the people of Peru “deserve better” leadership:

MODERATOR: Our attention is focused on Iraq, Iran and the wider Middle East. However, much of the world is watching closely Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. How concerned are you about his influence?

CHENEY: We have — I’m trying to think how to state this diplomatically.

(LAUGHTER)

Diplomacy is hard sometimes.

(LAUGHTER)

We have refrained from making public pronouncements about Mr. Chavez — I think, for good and legitimate reasons. He’s a — obviously, an individual with his own agenda. And he spends a great deal of his time worrying about us and criticizing the United States.

My own personal view is that he does not represent the future of Latin America. And the people of Peru (sic), I think, deserve better in their leadership. But that’s obviously a matter they’ve got to resolve for themselves.

For the record, Peru’s current president is Alan García. (At least Cheney didn’t call Africa a “nation.”)

[link to thinkprogress.org]