Convenient Christian

I'm having a busy week, so I don't have the time I'd like to dissect the idiocy of Pat Robertson. But since Venezuela is the largest supplier of oil in the western hemisphere, and oil is a bit of an issue right now, let's hit a few of the lowlights on this one. First, Hugo Chavez is a democratically-elected leader. That's more than many of our closest allies can say including the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait and others. Second, Chavez is extraordinarily popular in Venezuela. Some opinion polls have put his approval rating at 70%---shocking in Latin America, where anything north of about 20% has always been rare. Do we need to mention President Bush's current approval rating?

But Robertson's comments are particularly shameful and hypocritical in light of an episode in his recent past.

Until being forced to abdicate in 2003, Charles Taylor was Liberia's Saddam Hussein. Having seized power as a warlord and then winning a farcical election, Taylor was infamous for his brutality and corruption. He essentially ran Liberia as his own personal cash register, and eventually was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal. In the summer of 2003, with hundreds of thousands of Liberians dead in a civil war and its embassy in the country under siege, the U.S. finally intervened and demanded that Taylor step down.

Pat Robertson wasn't happy about that. From a WaPo article in 2003:

Charles Taylor, the Liberian president who has been indicted by an international court for crimes against humanity, has few remaining supporters in the United States. But one prominent American who has stuck with the West African leader is religious broadcaster and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson.

In recent broadcasts of his cable TV show "The 700 Club," watched by an estimated 1 million households, Robertson has defended Taylor as a fellow Baptist and Liberia's "freely elected" leader. The "horrible bloodbath" taking place in Liberia, he has repeatedly said, is the fault of the State Department.

What Robertson, 73, has not discussed in these broadcasts is his financial interest in Liberia. In an interview yesterday, he said he has "written off in my own mind" an $8 million investment in a gold mining venture that he made four years ago under an agreement with Taylor's government.

Yet, he added: "Hope springs eternal. Once the dust has cleared on this thing, chances are there will be some investors from someplace who want to invest. If I could find some people to sell it to, I'd be more than delighted."

A few more quotes as reported by CBS News at the same time:

"How dare the president of the United States say to the duly elected president of another country, 'You've got to step down,'" Robertson said Monday on "The 700 Club," broadcast from his Christian Broadcasting Network.

"It's one thing to say, we will give you money if you step down and we will give you troops if you step down, but just to order him to step down? He doesn't work for us."

How about that last gem in light of his comments about assassinating Chavez?

As Robertson was opining about U.S. policy towards Liberia in 2003, that country was engulfed in civil war and its citizens were stacking dead bodies at the gate of the U.S. Embassy at Mamba Point, Monrovia's diplomatic enclave (photo here, and here). But Pat Robertson---compassionate Christian---appeared to have others things on his mind.

Maybe all Pat needs to lighten up a bit is a little scratch at stake in Venezuela, eh?