Why I oughta . . .

There seems to be a firestorm among patriotic conservatives today about President Obama's refusal to ask President Hugo Chavez out into the street to duke it out mano a mano, or at least to a one-on-one winner-take-all basketball game after Chavez said some bad things about the United States at the Summit of the Americas this week-end.

Chavez' tackiness was exceeded only by his brass. In his speech he unabashedly said terrible things about the United States as Obama listened intently. Then as President Obama was shaking hands with him later, he presented Obama with a book, "The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent." The book alleges European and American economic and political interference in Latin America. He conveniently made the surprise presentation in front of photographers.

The conservative talking heads are incensed. Obama should have retaken the podium and went vapulear on them. (google it). He should have opened the book, spit on it, thrown it on the floor and stomped on it. He was face to face with Chavez, close enough to use some of the famous three stooges moves Moe used on Curly, and sometimes Larry, when they did something stupid. You know, poke him in the eyes, grab his nose, bonk him on the head.

But thank God, this President is no stooge. As he entered the summit of the Americas, he already towered physically over his colleagues. But his refusal to stoop to the antics of President Chavez, his refusal to put bravado over substance, his refusal to let personal pride take his eyes off the goal, raised his stature to new heights, a stature that is now even more visible to the whole world . . .but not to a few micro-brained dinosaurs who were not buried by the landslides of the last American election.

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile burning coals upon his head."

What kind of liberal crap is that? Actually the words belong to that original evangelical Christian, Paul, formerly known as Saul. Be nice to your enemy cause that will really chap him. He often used worldly logic to justify a more pure message.

"Love your enemy."

Yeah. That was Jesus. He did not make excuses or try to justify what He said.

Maybe we look at Jesus' words all wrong. (I know I do from time to time). Maybe he wasn't calling us to an other-worldly set of pie in the sky idealistic notions. Maybe He was saying, okay, if you'll just try it this way, loving instead of always grabbing the sword, giving from the open hand rather than threatening with the closed fist, things will work like their supposed to, like you were created to be.

I had given up on ever seeing it tried, even a little bit, when it came to international relations. But at least at the Summit of Americas, when the pressure was on, our President acted like a Christian.

Apparently the coals of kindness are in fact burning the flesh of Obama's enemies. It is a shame that most of the smoke is rising from the heads of his own Christian countrymen.

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