Obama Calls Meetings with Chavez Good Steps/title> <LINK REL=stylesheet HREF="../includes/styles.css" TYPE="text/css"> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head><body ONLOAD="preloadImages();" background="../images/bg.gif" topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" rightmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <TABLE WIDTH=748 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0> <TR> <TD> <A HREF="../index.html" TARGET="_self"> <IMG SRC="../images/top_01.gif" WIDTH=71 HEIGHT=121 BORDER=0 ALT=""></A></TD> <TD> <A HREF="../index.html" TARGET="_self"> <IMG SRC="../images/top_02.gif" WIDTH=116 HEIGHT=121 BORDER=0 ALT=""></A></TD> <TD> <A HREF="../index.html" TARGET="_self"> <IMG SRC="../images/top_03.gif" WIDTH=64 HEIGHT=121 BORDER=0 ALT=""></A></TD> <TD> <IMG SRC="../images/top_04.jpg" WIDTH=112 HEIGHT=121 ALT=""></TD> <TD> <IMG SRC="../images/top_05.jpg" WIDTH=115 HEIGHT=121 ALT=""></TD> <TD> <IMG SRC="../images/top_06.jpg" WIDTH=95 HEIGHT=121 ALT=""></TD> <TD> <IMG SRC="../images/top_07.jpg" WIDTH=63 HEIGHT=121 ALT=""></TD> <TD> <IMG SRC="../images/top_08.jpg" WIDTH=112 HEIGHT=121 ALT=""></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> <A HREF="../index.html" TARGET="_self" ONMOUSEOVER="changeImages('top_09', 'images/top_09-over.gif'); 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They own Citgo. It's unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chavez, we are endangering the strategic interest of the United States," Mr. Obama said at a press conference wrapping up his trip. <br><br> "You would be hard-pressed to paint a scenario in which U.S. interests would be damaged as a consequence of us having a more constructive relationship with Venezuela," he said. <br><br> But some in the U.S. saw Mr. Obama's outreach - his Chavez meeting also yielded a widely publicized photo of the two men shaking hands - as a mistake. <br><br> "When you're talking about the prestige of the United States and the presidency of the United States, you have to be careful who you're seen joking around with. And I think it was irresponsible for the president to be seen kind of laughing and joking with Hugo Chavez," Sen. John Ensign, Nevada Republican, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. <br><br> But Mr. Obama called the trip a success, saying the engagement was worth the criticism. <br><br> <a class="main" href="news.html" target="_self">Back >>></a> </P> <br><br> <br><br> <img src="../images/rule.gif"> <p class="disclaimer">NOTE: The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of Venezuela. More information is available from the FARA office of the Department of Justice in Washington DC. <br><br> Venezuela Information Office<br> 2000 P Street NW, Suite 240 Washington, DC 20036 tel: (202) 347-8081 fax: (202) 223-8029 </p> </td> </tr> </table> </td>  </tr> </table> </body> </html>