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Obama Cozies Up to Dictators, for Unions' Sake

Labor-beholden govt. supports oppressors: Henninger

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 1, 2009 7:10 AM CDT

(Newser) – In his inaugural address Barack Obama pledged to "extend a hand" to America's foes—and he sure has, writes Daniel Henninger. Hillary Clinton is opening "direct dialogue" with the Burmese junta, John Kerry went to Syria, and the president himself has greeted Hugo Chávez and even reached out to Raúl Castro. "The baddest actors in the world get face time with Barack Obama," says the Wall Street Journal columnist, "but their struggling opposition gets invisibility."

In "rogue No. 1" Iran, the astoundingly brave green-clad reformists are still protesting, but their continued demonstrations "seem to have earned them nothing in the calculations of US policy." Similar movements in Egypt, Syria, and Venezuela have been neglected—and for Henninger the reason is clear. Obama and the Democrats are "fused to financial support from domestic labor unions," and helping the world's oppressed would endanger their protectionism-loving benefactors. "Today," he writes, "social justice stops at the water's edge."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Holding a green ribbon, a symbolic color of pro-reform Iranian opposition, a female opposition supporter attends a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. (AP Photo)

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez listens to President Barack Obama during the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Sunday, April 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office)

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The one thing the Obama tack of talking to dictators assures is that many of these populations may be run indefinitely by economically incompetent psychopaths who pose no threat to American labor and their Democratic dependents. -

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 16 comments

CaptainZ64

Oct 2, 2009 3:08 AM CDT

Lets talk history, the attacks of 9-11 were planned under Clinton. Clinton had Osama handed to him and he refused. Bush was a idiot but he continued the same foreign policy as his predecessors, both Dem and Republican.

jagerhans

Oct 1, 2009 12:15 PM CDT

traditionally the U.S. are fond of foreign dictators, until they obey and are no evil commies. and if the U.S. are not meant to dialogue with (all) tyrants why they don't stop talking to Putin to start off.

Aelius28

Oct 1, 2009 12:12 PM CDT

i no, rite? How dare the President talk with his enemies >:O Better we sit back, wait for them to hit us hard enough and then spend a few decades babysitting their country with our armed forces, starving our own country of hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for it. [/sarcasm]

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Obama Cozies Up to Dictators, for Unions' Sake