In one photo, President Obama grins as he clasps Hugo Chavez by the hand. In another, he warmly grasps the Venezuelan president by the shoulder. Those pictures disgusted several members of Congress. Some said so on national television.
Responding to criticism of this encounter, the president was by turns cavalier and obtuse. About the left-wing rant of a book Mr. Chavez gave him, Mr. Obama said mildly, "It was a nice gesture to give me a book. I'm a reader."
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