Thou shalt not kill, unless thou hast a clear shot at the president of Venezuela

See? This is why we don't put people like Pat Robertson in charge of anything important.

Robertson, the televangelist who runs the Christian Broadcasting Network, suggested on his 700 Club program this week that the United States should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war," says the cost-conscious former presidential candidate.

I guess Pat was out sick from Sunday school the week they covered the Sixth Commandment, or Jesus' commentary thereon in Matthew 5:21-26.

Even Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who has proposed and endorsed far stupider actions than taking out antagonistic foreign dignitaries, knows that Robertson's is a lame idea: "Our department doesn’t do that kind of thing. It’s against the law." Not that illegality has ever stopped Rumsfeld before, but that's beside the point.

For his part, Chavez has frequently accused the U.S. government of working to overthrow his administration or to bump him off, whichever comes first, allegations the White House has denied with bluntness.

Maybe Hugo just needs to quit watching The 700 Club.