Who would question the fact that we used to be proud Americans that walk ten feet tall on this planet?

     But not anymore since President Obama started apologizing for the wrong done to the world by the “United States Empire” as President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela charged in the recently concluded Summit of the Americas held on April 17-19, 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago.

      In sync with Chavez’ attack, leftist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega lashes out at a century of what he called “terroristic U.S. aggression” in Central America.

      Joseph S. Tulchin of Foreign Policy.com, summoned his courage like fearless journalists do, to write with revulsion, about Chavez’ murderous attitude towards America. Venezuela’s spitfire called Obama an ‘ignoramus’ ”. Obama made some sort of lapsus linguae when he decried Chavez’ anti-US rhetoric an obstruction of progress in the region. 

       Chavez and Ortega fired their salvo simultaneously, attacking the United States with such outlandish outrage that in comparison made Osama bin Laden’s condemnation of the United States sounds like a titillating compliment.

      Since the conclusion of the Summit I have barely recovered from shock:  In spite of this garbage thrown right at the U.S. president’s face by leftist enemies of the United States in the Western Hemisphere, not a whimper of protest came from Obama’s celebrated oratorical bravado. My shock was on how this widely known oral exhibitionist lost his voice.

     In his right mind, a diplomat much more the President, could easily defend and should defend the country against this leftist’s accusation of “history of US racism” and “suffocating U.S. economic policies” for the Americas hurled by Ortega. It was a sublime duty to defend -- not just an open-ended obligation to defend -- the honor of the country. I know because that’s the job of a diplomat I used to do.

     For instance, this racism rant that makes the whole of United States a skinhead is a fly in the ointment played like a broken record so naively it lost its sound bytes.

    Under former president Bush, Latin America was the beneficiary of Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas (PPA) that repackaged free trade for the benefit of the region.

      Only the underground left in this hemisphere is suffocated by this kind of U.S. development policy of rescuing underdeveloped Latin American countries from the quagmire of poverty and neediness.

     It is not really as bad as those hinterland states of Africa are, but there is no denying that the future of Central America is at a crossroad of change not for the better but for the worse.  The region had long been ravaged by internal wars triggered by political and leadership rivalries; Central America also became the ideological battleground of ideologues from the West and the East.  We are there, but so are China, Russia, Europe and lately, the Middle East, all bearing arms of influence to protect one’s self-interest.  A foot of the enemy is planted inside the door of the Western Hemisphere left ajar.

      Furthermore, besides NAFTA proper, adjunct SPP – Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America – was formed by Mexico, Canada and the United States when leaders of these three countries met in Waco, Texas in 2005.  Although in the process of SPP implementation there were more obstructions than what could be seen in the surface, gains outweighed losses.  Continuous improvements to correct the wrong are planned and implemented even as we speak.

         PPA provided a forum for Latin American leaders “… to ensure that the benefits of trade are broadly shared.” Goals were difficult to achieve when leftist opposition leaders relentlessly pursued their nefarious agenda … throwing roadblocks to opening up markets, paving the way to regional disintegration instead of integration. As a result, it shouldn’t surprise anyone why there is persistent inequality and gnawing hardship and destitution in the region.

       When we talk about the shame that Obama wants all Americans to bear, here’s what breaks the camel’s back: For Obama to graciously admit as “error”, that the regional apocalypse of Central America is the handiwork of the United States and that we the American people are to blame for causing all the miseries in the region, made us cringed not only with embarrassment but feeling of guilt and shame meant to follow us to our grave.

       Although the United States under former president Bush is indisputably a benefactor of Latin America that until now continues to receive regional technical and financial aids, still there is so much hate out there seen in the eyes of Ortega and Chavez.  To cut the nose to spite the face no doubt exhibits a high degree of distrust and ingratitude among those beneficiary countries that look up to Uncle Sam for help. It is a snaky road for snake-like ingrates to take in their infantile journey to the future by biting the hand that feeds them.

      When Obama assured Latin American leaders of equal treatment, it was just a bad echo in the wind. “I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership … There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations.”  But notwithstanding this assurance, several countries that attended the Summit showed their distrust of Obama. Instead, led by Chavez and Ortega, they refused to sign the accord discussed and agreed upon, at the end of the meeting.

      And in shame as a result of admission that America is a bully, Obama apologized: “The United States will be willing to acknowledge past errors where those errors have been made…"  But even this pacifying overture didn’t work. The conferees were aware of Obama’s double-talks. So it proves no lies when I make it of record that in fact the whole hullabaloo simply boils down to the issue of trust.

     Consider this: With brilliant oratory, Obama painted a rainbow of hope and opportunity for heads of states attending the Summit, urging them to focus on what they can do in the future to advance the interest of all the people of the hemisphere. But he was just a shill leader of the Summit trying to make a pitch to entrap the leaders of Latin America into becoming partners and accomplices of the United States’ imperialistic designs in the region -- at least this is to my mind what Ortega thinks of the Summit.

     Here’s why: this feisty Nicaraguan leader is true to himself, and to what he is always to the other leaders of the Americas. He takes the cudgel and leads their fight for them. For instance, he was mortified with the absence of Cuba in the gathering. Obama was proud he was attending his first Summit froth with opportunity for regional cooperation, but to Ortega and his anti-U.S. leftist supporters in the conference, they dared to say right in the face of Obama that they were actually not attending a Summit.

      “This summit and I simply refuse to call it summit of the Americas,” Ortega decried.  “I don't feel comfortable attending this summit. I cannot feel comfortable by being here. I feel ashamed of the fact that I'm participating at this summit with the absence of Cuba.”

      Ortega’s speech always catches fire.  In the Summit it cremated Obama’s loquaciousness. Obama was stunned and muted before lapsing into such an embarrassing and disquieting silence.

      How could Obama endure Ortega’s 50-minute-long diatribes, is beyond me.  In the company of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama was asked how he thought of Ortega lambasting the United States and the Summit, and this African-American president lost his tongue, which was quite abnormal for a talkative Obama who in public soliloquy is known to be the country’s most celebrated oral artist.

       But later on, back to normal, Obama used the sword of lies to get back into the verbal fracas to slay the dragon, so to speak.

       However, before we go to that, I want first to register my surprise and incredulity on Obama’s reaction as a diplomat under attack. It was indeed surprisingly amazing how Obama’s weird response grabbed attention.  Instead of defending the United States, it was shown in this Summit for the first time that Obama seemed to enjoy watching America being pummeled by opponents and the uglier the black eye the better.  After all, isn’t America a terribly wormed bad apple, which Obama promised to change?

       That having said, he just turned Ortega’s attack into a joke. So he gave Ortega this response of a clown for laughs: “I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old.”

       But it was a stale joke. Nobody laughed because even in the presence of heads of states, it is public knowledge that Obama could not resist choking the truth to draw a standing ovation. “Things that happened” that he was referring to was the Bay of Pigs incident that exposed the United States’ failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in “April 1961”. Obama could not be “three months old” then.  He was not even born yet. It was reported that “Obama was born on August 4, 1961.” [1]

       So much have been written about Obama’s lying and self-contradictions, so what more can I say?  As I write, Mother’s Day has just been celebrated nationwide. 

       Maybe mothers, who are no longer with us or still with us, taught their children not to lie but some didn’t.

       That being the case, what would make the blameworthy of all mothers stir in their grave is the fact that to lying Liberals, which Obama’s kind personifies, to destroy rather than save life for political expediency, is not uncommon. They would rather be popular than normal, artfully smart than truthful. These are undeniable historical remarks written all over the face of the earth it stinks. 

      This fault could be most probably attributable to environmental upbringing, not necessarily a congenital default. Yet, this robotic fib that happens to be the redeeming virtue of the Left and Liberal extremists too smart for their own good, is in my Microsoft default button – when they try to be nice and argue their cause, they automatically default to lies.

       This aggravates the shame Obama wants Americans to feel deep down the marrow of their bones.

       For, indeed, America has changed. And by the way, it is still changing folks, from here to I know not where. #

 © Copyright Edwin A. Sumcad.  FP.com access May 15, 2009.

The writer is an award-winning journalist. Read more about the author or you may e-mail your comment at ed.superx722@yahoo.com.sg. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it.