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Barack Obama’s New Best Friend

Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero is looking forward to (finally) getting a warm reception in Washington.

by
Soeren Kern

Bio

November 13, 2008 - 12:00 am
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During his annual September pilgrimage to the shrines of global governance at the United Nations in New York, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero boasted that Spain’s per capita GDP has now surpassed that of Italy. “This depresses Berlusconi,” he joked of the Italian prime minister, adding that Spain was on target to overtake France “within three to four years.”

Considering Zapatero’s triumphalism, Spaniards are asking themselves why it has taken three humiliating weeks of begging and pleading to get their prime minister invited to a global financial summit in Washington on November 15.

The “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy” is being organized by members of the G-7 to discuss the turmoil on world financial markets. Also invited to the meeting are the leaders of the industrialized and developing countries that belong to the G-20. Unfortunately for Zapatero, Spain, which is the world’s eighth-largest economy in terms of GDP (the World Bank ranks it eleventh in terms of purchasing power parity), is not a member of either of the two groups. What’s worse, U.S. President George W. Bush is hosting the meeting and Zapatero has been persona non grata in Washington since he unilaterally pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq in 2004.

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Facing a mountain of criticism (and an avalanche of ridicule) at home, a visibly embarrassed Zapatero launched a diplomatic offensive unprecedented in the annals of modern Spanish history to ensure that Spain gets invited to the summit. Zapatero and his bumbling foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, pounded the pavement for weeks crying “We will be in Washington!” and pleading with anyone who would listen to intercede on Spain’s behalf. Countries like Argentina, Brazil and China were recruited for the cause and French President Nicolas Sarkozy even offered Zapatero one of the two seats that France had been offered at the meeting.

In the end, however, it was Bush who had the final say. And Bush, who has been vilified as the personification of evil by Zapatero and his anti-American Socialist acolytes for more than four years, decided to give the hapless Spanish prime minister a break. Zapatero will now be coming to Washington after all.

What does Zapatero hope to achieve with his newfound status as persona grata? He seems to want to bite the hand that feeds him. Like an Energizer Bunny that just keeps going and going, Zapatero has missed not a beat in reiterating his pathological dislike of American-style capitalism.

“Now it has been demonstrated” that “neo-liberal” ideology does not serve “either economically or socially,” Zapatero proclaimed. He has assured Spanish voters that he will be going to Washington to enact “changes in the order of global priorities,” to eradicate “poverty and hunger,” so that “peace and security, the fight against the violent” are the “fruit of a large multilateral concert in which the United Nations will have a central role.” It’s “time to change, to take sides with the planet” and “respect nature.”

Zapatero + Obama = White House Visit

Zapatero’s high-minded post-modern rhetoric brings to mind another would-be messiah. Indeed, the big news splattered across headlines all over Spain recently has been that, with the election victory of Barack Obama, Zapatero may now finally get his long-awaited invitation to the White House.

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17 Comments, 17 Threads, 1 Trackbacks

  1. Don’t forget that McCain forgot that Zapatero was the Spanish Prime Minister – if memory serves me correctly, he thought Zapatero was from Central America.

    http://www.lettersfromatory.com

  2. 2. JFM

    If you look at the following photo you will know everything you need to know about Zapatero. Obama would be well advised in ignoring him.

  3. 3. Julie

    “Don’t forget that McCain forgot that Zapatero was the Spanish Prime Minister – if memory serves me correctly, he thought Zapatero was from Central America.”

    So what? Zapatero is a persona non grata in the U.S. McCain was probably confusing Zapatero with Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican rebel leader.

    Don’t forget that Spaniards cravenly gave into terrorists after the Madrid train bombings by electing Zapatero, who promised to remove Spanish troops from Iraq – this from the country of El Cid and Cervantes (who heroically fought in the Battle of Lepanto)!

  4. Obama meeting with Zapatero will be a marvellous step in sending the right message to Al Qaeda and others: “We are sorry for offending Islam and for our atrocious acts, such as The Reconquista. We love you and want to be your best friends. We promise to behave in the future. “

  5. 5. Craig

    He has assured Spanish voters that he will be going to Washington to enact “changes in the order of global priorities,” to eradicate “poverty and hunger,” so that “peace and security, the fight against the violent” are the “fruit of a large multilateral concert in which the United Nations will have a central role.”

    Impressive. Eradicate world hunger and poverty in a loving multcutural fruity sort of way! Aww….shucks amigo…can I have an effin hug?

    And all tied up in a neat bow by the United Nations? I am SO GLAD I haven’t eaten yet…I wouldn’t be able to hold it down with this delusional nonsense.

  6. A match made in heaven. Please see my article in American Thinker:

    http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/obamas_foreign_policy_appeasem.html

  7. 7. Luke

    Hopefully Zapatero brings BHO one of those funny little hats.

    http://www.antiquehelper.com/auctionimages/27757t.jpg

  8. 8. Spaniard American

    Zapatero is the worst president Spain has ever had. A lot of people are losing their jobs in Spain and this useful idiot is has been begging to Sarko for a chair in the Washington meeting, when he doesn’t understand English.

    Zapatero ignored in the NATO meeting… look for Merkel looking at him… was he sleeping?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOVlH3oAxgM

  9. RADICAL POLITICIANS WILL DESTROY OBAMA
    The far left in Congress is on track to ruin the Obama administration:

    http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/radical-politicians-will-destroy-obama.html

  10. Okay, McCain forgot that Zapatero was the Spanish Prime Minister, but, as is apparent from the photo posted by jfm above, Zapatero forgot that too. For telling comment on Zapatero see:

    http://thethoughtsoffrit.blogspot.com/2008/08/self-obsessed-lowlife-career-terrorist.html

  11. 11. always right

    McCain’s supposed not knowing Zapatero was debunked thoroughly. A few threads were devoted to it.

    Apparently some people just don’t read.

  12. 12. Douglas Bogle

    Never fear Obama is here.

    JFM, I think this Zapatero, ( shoe maker ) is just the kind of man Obama hangs with.

    No lapel pin, no hand over the heart, etc. etc.

    They can sit next to each other and bash the US.

    Never fear Obama is here.

  13. 13. David W. Lincoln

    Better relations with traditional allies is simply code for, “You were right, we were wrong” by the knuckle dragging second guessers of those
    they demonize.

    The likes of Zapatero is a reflection of what was
    conquered by the Muslim Hordes, not of what cleared them out of the Iberian Peninsula.

  14. 14. Al Fin

    Zapatero is precisely the type of friend that Obama will cultivate, in addition to Hugo Chavez and leaders of Hamas. They can all remind Obama why he chose to enter public service–the great causes of justice, peace, and revolution.

    Obama will focus all the resources of the US toward solving the problems of world poverty, hunger, and injustice. To begin the healing, he must choose the proper human sacrifices to appease the gods of social justice. If the first set of sacrifices fails to appease them, another, larger set of sacrificial humans must be chosen. And so on, until the gods of social justice have been appeased–or until no more humans remain to be sacriviced, whichever comes first.

    It is a noble task. Obama will need the guidance of men such as Zapatero to see that it is carried out fully, promptly, and in a politically correct manner.

  15. 15. Mongoose

    Let Obama do so. The American people will come to detest it.

    Conservatives should go out there and debunk this “standing in the world” nonsense.

    I hope we can have him out there apologizing for the USA. It will come back on the Democrats big time.

  16. 16. vivo

    13. Douglas Bogle:

    “No lapel pin, no hand over the heart, etc. etc.”

    Totally unnecessary symbolism.

    What’s next? The Hitlerian or Mussolini salute? The Michael Jackson grab? :)

  17. 17. Monica

    You clearly dislike Zapatero, ok. But you clearly dislike Spain, so what are you doing there. Return to wherever you came from, since is so much better

    a Spaniard that was born in the land of Don Quijote

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