Oil Program Ad Labeled `Propaganda’ From Chavez

Kennedy Faulted For Thanking Venezuela For Low-Cost Shipments

BOSTON — In a TV commercial, former Rep. Joseph Kennedy stands aboard an oil tanker moving across the Boston skyline and promises that millions of gallons of discounted heating oil are on their way to poor, shivering families, courtesy of “our good friends in Venezuela.”

What he doesn’t mention is that those “good friends” include Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a socialist and staunch U.S. critic who famously called President Bush “the devil” in a speech last year at the United Nations.

The reference to Venezuela has led to accusations that Kennedy is a shill for Chavez.

Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., fired off a letter to Kennedy this week, accusing him of working with “a sworn enemy of the United States” and betraying the legacy of President John F. Kennedy, his uncle, who spoke of the perils of communism.

AP