How to avoid making friends abroad.
Ladies and gentleman - let me introduce Tom Lantos (D-CA), esteemed chairman of the mighty House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman of 25 years, Democrat. A seasoned politician and statesman.
The event is unspectacular - the dedication ceremony for a victims of communism memorial in Washington DC. Today. Main speaker of the event, which is mostly a "Hail Reagan" festival, is is the Leader of the Free World, himself. While a little dull he remains well with the expected framework of political speech.
But that was going to change. Now enter Tom Lantos.
According to dpa, in his speech
he attacked both Schroeder and former French president Jacques Chirac for failing to support the United States in its 2003 invasion of Iraq.
[...].
Lantos' remarks reflected the lingering bitterness over French and German opposition to the war
[...]
He said the two leaders had turned their backs to the US and its fight against the next wave of tyranny, Islamic fascism.
Um. Ah. What party, exactly, does this guy represent again ? Uh, nevermind.
But it gets better. Says dpa:
The congressman then provoked gasps of amusement and surprise in the crowd of several hundred when he said he would like to call Schroeder 'a political prostitute, now that he's taking big cheques from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. But the sex workers in my district objected.'
Well, yeah. Now, that's the kind of language that gets you friends all over the world. The chairman of the House comittee of foreign affairs certainly forgot that Schroeder's party, the left wing Social Democrats, is still in Government these days, albeit not alone.
The German press office reacted promptly:
German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm rejected the remark 'clearly and decisively.'
'This is an unseemly level of discourse with a former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,' Wilhelm told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa in Berlin.
The general secretary of Schröder's party, Hubertus Heil, was less circumspect:
"If Lantos' remarks are authentic, they exhibit political stupidity and tastelessness"
(translated from German)
Umm. Is that really Pelosi's point man for foreign affairs ?
Apparently, we are going to live in interesting times.
But, hey, let's not be too negative. Lantos also made new friends: he's now wildly popular in freeperville.