I guess you can't fault him for raising the paranoia level of the entire South American continent with his comment, though. It's true we supported the coup against Chavez until even Republican members of Congress balked at the hypocrisy, but Robertson as a private citizen (and former Republican candidate for his party's nomination for President) can pretty much say what he wants what with free speech and everything. It isn't just Venezuelans, though, who remember these things. Our government voicing its support for the overthrow of what even they acknowledge is a fairly elected head of state makes our pronouncements on “spreading democracy and freedom” throughout the world more than a little hollow. It does to me.

Brings back memories of CIA sponsored exploding cigars smuggled down to Cuba for the smoking enjoyment of Fidel Castro. I said it was “interesting” to hear old Pat Robertson, the Reverend Pat Robertson, instead of “shocked” to hear or “flabbergasted” to hear, but this is the Twenty-First Century and very little is flabbergasting anymore. But I digress. Pat's getting old, I'm getting old, maybe I'll be saying things like this myself one day. “Shoot him, shoot her, shoot the mailman, shoot the messenger.” But I'll wait, if you don't mind, until it actually happens.