Gouging Out an Eye to Spite Your Face

Via Boz, the appointments of Carlos Pascual and Arturo Venezuela (the incoming ambassador to Mexico and the State Department's Latin America boss, respectively) are being held up by republicans in the Senate, because "the administration rushed to the aid of Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by supporting Zelaya's return."

Putting aside the absolute mindlessness of allowing American policy to be dictated simply by doing the opposite of what Chávez does, now we have a situation in which our diplomatic links with Mexico, the most important of all Latin American nations, and the region as a whole are being compromised because of tiny Honduras. That makes no sense.