Last week, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) — who originally supported the war in Iraq — delivered a scathing indictment of President Bush’s policy in Iraq, stating it “may even be criminal.” Yesterday on ABC This Week he called it a “dereliction” and “deeply immoral.”

The administration isn’t taking him very seriously. Today, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow dismissed the comments, stating that “politics are emotional.” When the reporter questioned whether Snow was “saying Republican Senator Smith is not in favor of democracy,” Snow replied, “I don’t know.” Watch it:

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In a new documentary, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) — who was “recently tapped to become the top Republican on the House International Relations Committee” — talks casually on video “about how proud she is to represent Cuban ‘freedom fighters’ living in exile in Miami and on the island.” She then says, “I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people.” Watch it:

Last year, right-wing evangelist Pat Robertson was widely criticized for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The White House called Robertson’s remarks “inappropriate,” and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) labeled them “stupid” and “ludicrous.” Robertson later apologized. “Is it right to call for assassination? No,” he said.

Ros-Lehtinen, “who has never hid her loathing for Castro, says the clip was spliced together,” the Miami Herald reports. “A spokesman for Ros-Lehtinen said she’s never called for anyone’s assassination, but Ros-Lehtinen said she can’t rule out that she ever mentioned Castro and a potential assassination. ‘If someone were to do it, I wouldn’t be crying,’ she said.”

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