A Speech That Khrushchev or Arafat or Che Would Admire
WHEN President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela used his General Assembly appearance to call President Bush a devil who had left a telltale scent of sulfur on the speaker’s podium, he was acting in an old, if not grand, tradition.The General Assembly hall with its green marble rostrum and giant golden screen bearing the United Nations seal was meant to sound with high-minded calls for international understanding. But on more than a few occasions, the cathedral-like space has rung instead with barbs and insults. And American presidents — from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton to George H.W. Bush — have been the favored targets.
In 1950, Wu Xiuquan, a Chinese representative, denounced the Truman administration effort to promote Taiwan, saying, “This is a preposterous farce, unworthy of refutation, in which Truman makes a mockery of Truman himself.”
President Reagan came in for a Hollywood-specific scolding in 1987 from Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua. Denouncing Mr. Reagan’s decision to continue financing contras fighting his Sandinista regime, Mr. Ortega said, “Rambo only exists in the movies.”
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In 1950, Wu Xiuquan, a Chinese representative, denounced the Truman administration effort to promote Taiwan, saying, “This is a preposterous farce, unworthy of refutation, in which Truman makes a mockery of Truman himself.”
President Reagan came in for a Hollywood-specific scolding in 1987 from Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua. Denouncing Mr. Reagan’s decision to continue financing contras fighting his Sandinista regime, Mr. Ortega said, “Rambo only exists in the movies.”