President Obama Jokes About Ortega Rant
EmailPORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD — "To move forward, we cannot let ourselves be prisoners of past disagreements," President Obama said to the Summit of the Americas this evening. "I’m very grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was 3 months old."
Mr. Obama was referring to the 52-minute airing of grievances by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, which ran through decades of what he saw as American imperialism. When discussing the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was launched 48 years ago, Mr. Ortega said he didn’t blame Mr. Obama for it, since according to Cuban President Raoul Castro, the invasion happened when Barack Obama was 3-and-a-half months old at the time.
"Obviously, he didn’t have any responsibility for that historic event," Ortega said.
Actually, President Obama was four months away from being born at the time, April 17, 1961 — 48 years ago today.
Mr. Obama’s birthday is in August.
In any case, the Ortega reference fit right into President Obama’s remarks.
"Too often, an opportunity to build a fresh partnership of the Americas has been undermined by stale debates," Mr. Obama continued. "We’ve all heard these arguments."
– Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller
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He has a way of speaking his mind.
Posted by: Thinking | April 17, 2009, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm
Way to go Mr. President! You are a great leader!
Posted by: RC | April 17, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
Obama is a funny guy. Actually the USA has been an imperial power up to the current day, and most people now despise us for our foreign interventions. I am glad that Obama has heard it all before. We will see how our policies move forward under Obama. Now that we are broke, maybe we can practice a bit more humility.
Posted by: Huh | April 17, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
That’s funny!!!
Posted by: Susan | April 17, 2009, 8:24 pm 8:24 pm
Can someone tell Obama that when you become the president, you own the American history too…you represent America not YOURSELF….
this is shameful, the tour of “apology” still continues and his handshake and smile with Chavez is DISGUSTING!
Posted by: john | April 17, 2009, 8:26 pm 8:26 pm
Hey Huh:
America has never colonized any country, you are confusing us with France, England, Portugal, Spain, Germany, on and on…
so who should be hated the most??? read your history and if Obama was smart he could have take this opportunity to teach Ortega and the rest a real history lesson…but Obama is too busy apologizing
Posted by: Frieda | April 17, 2009, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
Frieda – Oh silly Frieda, think about it. Those powers colonized through force. We colonize them through economic blackmail. Get them so far into debt so that they will be subservient for the long term.
Posted by: Huh | April 17, 2009, 8:54 pm 8:54 pm
According to his book, Perkins’ function was to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID. Saddled with huge debts they could not hope to pay, these countries were forced to acquiesce to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues. Perkins argues in his book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run.
Posted by: Huh | April 17, 2009, 8:56 pm 8:56 pm
Frieda – I am no fan of Obama. He is going to tax us through inflation as a result of all the new money the Fed is creating. Ron Paul is the only person to tell the truth. The neocon republicans are terrible too.
Posted by: Huh | April 17, 2009, 9:00 pm 9:00 pm
Hey Huh,
hmmm, so “colonizing by force” is much better than “economic black mail”. So, if we had colonized those countries, we would have been loved by other countries, Oh! I got it.
No wonder standard of living in most of Asian countries have gone up in the last 30 years ….While oil producing countries in Middle East Arab countries has gone backwards. it’s nothing to do with America, I suggest reading more books than just Perkins…it will help you.
The point I was making Obama should stop apologizing to the world, everyone know that he is knew and he was not born when Washington was the president.
Posted by: Frieda | April 17, 2009, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
“To move forward, we cannot let ourselves be prisoners of past disagreements,”
This is a clever tack to take, and pretty neatly takes out a number of the standard condemnations and ranting about US behavior during the Cold War. I’m reassured that Obama has some good folks working on his Latin America team.
Posted by: jhw539 | April 17, 2009, 9:26 pm 9:26 pm
True, Obama is not to blame for the imperialist actions against Nicaragua and the death and destruction they caused.
However, he is still responsible for the reparations owed to Nicaragua according to the World Court judgement against the US.
Posted by: Flash Override | April 17, 2009, 9:38 pm 9:38 pm
Frieda – Actually Asia has been our pawn. We get them to make our stuff. Sure we are in debt, but we can just print 12 trillion and call it even. Of course that could kill our dollar. The middle east is a cesspool because we prop us dictatorial regimes that care only about oil money and keep their populaces in the middle ages with religion as their only hope. The Asians are at least educated. Of course you knew all that. Oh Frieda.
Posted by: Huh | April 17, 2009, 9:59 pm 9:59 pm
Obama’s going down. I just hope he doesn’t actually succeed in taking our nation with him, which IS apparently his goal.
Posted by: Em | April 17, 2009, 10:28 pm 10:28 pm
Listen to all of you who have the nerve to hope he fails. Obama is apologizing by not apologizing. He is acknowledging past mistakes but reminding everyone else that it takes two to tango. He is defending America by being honest and blunt while diplomatically weaving his way. There is no way in the world Chavez and his allies will steal this one they way they did with Bush in 2005. That is the genius of our new President.
God bless America and President Obama.
Posted by: David | April 18, 2009, 2:23 am 2:23 am
Obama will succeed and America will emerge stronger like never before. Obama is president for the next 4 years get over it.
Posted by: keith | April 18, 2009, 8:23 am 8:23 am
Wonder why those warm greetings with Chavez came out on a Friday?
As if we’ll forget over the weekend that the POTUS was grinning and shaking hands with a creepy dictator that hates America.
Way to validate and raise him up Obama!
Posted by: tad | April 18, 2009, 8:58 am 8:58 am
Obama leads a country with the strongest army (stronger than all the next 30 countries combined). He knows this and does not need to be a bully.
With that in his back pocket, he will advance the American agenda much further by soft power, Chavez rants suddenly sound hollow in the face of Obama’s grace. Thats change I can believe in.
Posted by: Bill | April 18, 2009, 11:01 am 11:01 am
It’s beyond troubling to see the affinity Obama has for Chavez. Still it’s not surprising from the collective victim mindset. But what’s the end game? Chavez’ Venezuela? Castro’s Cuba?
Posted by: Gatsby | April 18, 2009, 11:30 am 11:30 am
I’m not laughing, I am sickened.
Posted by: cathymc | April 18, 2009, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
I think we need to apply POTUS’ last statement to some of these post.
You folks need to get over it.
obama is a smart man. and is looking and sounding smarter and smarter everyday.
I think for every dumb day we had to endure with bush, we will have smart and smarter days with obama.
we know you arguments against him. and they are growing stale by the minute.
think about keeping quiet now, just as you did with bush and his mess.
Posted by: WHAT! | April 18, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
We’ve paid a high price for that Banana Republic!
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | April 18, 2009, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
Thank God we now have a president who can follow the golden rule and think on his feet. Both nice changes from the past eight years!
Posted by: Thankful | April 18, 2009, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
this guy is worse than bush, which I thought was not possible. This guy cannot even defend his own country-pathetic.
Posted by: trey | April 19, 2009, 9:47 am 9:47 am
To be honest our Education system needs to do a better job of teaching american’s/ us the real truth; not Brain washed lessons that tells one side… I guess Obama is a Listener and Bush was a Hard headed person that we all will have to pay for; In the last 20yrs what is Americas big Beef with Cuba over? there goverment…? give me a break… we all needed to be informed of the real story that no one wants to talk about…..
Posted by: PD | April 20, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am
3 months after the Bay of Pigs -April 1961 (04/61 means he was born in January 1961(01/61). That’s probably the truth… Just a Fruedian slip, all the more reason he should prove himself ti the Amercan People.
Posted by: Dall | April 21, 2009, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
President Obama is not making the country stronger…he’s weakening us. He doesn’t have to be a bully, but he needs to defend his country. Ortega rants against America for 52 minutes, and all Obama can say is “I’m very grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was 3 months old”??? Are you kidding me? Get a spine. We’re becoming a laughing stock to the rest of the world. He bent over and grabbed his ankles 3x last week, between Chavez, Ortega and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They all trashed us, and he said nothing. This, after his European apology tour. What a joke. I miss President Bush.
Posted by: FM | April 23, 2009, 7:46 am 7:46 am