"How bad is Chavez's streak"??? "Everything he touches turns to ashes"??? Dan, do you also still believe in Santa Claus and fairy tales?

Hugo Chavez is a loathsome figure but unfortunately he's if anything become stronger and more popular than ever. I was in Latin America recently Dan, and whether you like it or not, Chavez has a cult of personality there and is vigorously supported by an incredible number of people. Despite the raving lunacy of his UN speech, Chavez has a more solid base in this hemisphere than he's ever had before. He can't hurt the US too severely w/o hurting himself (e.g. by cutting off the supply of Venezuelan oil), but he can be a major irritant to us and he already is. Wishing this away ain't gonna make it so, and if for some reason Chavez is e.g. ousted in a coup, all hell's gonna break loose against the US, whether or not we actually had a role in it.

This post is part of what I see to be a rather disturbing trend among a lot of beleaguered conservatives these days. We're losing in Iraq and being effectively cowed by Iran, and in our frustration and impotence-- rather than frankly acknowledging the threats and the real power and potential of our enemies-- we tell ourselves sweet, soothing idiot nostrums about how these guys aren't really all that tough. Well, sorry, but closing one's eyes and shouting "see no evil, hear no evil" doesn't make it go away. I wouldn't put Chavez in the same category as e.g. Ahmedinejad, but it's juvenile fantasy and wishful thinking to pretend that he's just shriveling away.