Oil? Venezuela is still exporting, correct?

Damn. I was going to say oil.

Simple answers to simple questions

Q--"Readers are strongly encouraged to name issues in which Hugo Chavez and George W. Bush would share a mutual interest"

A--"meddling in the domestic affairs of other states"

Baseball. Chavez is a fan and so is Bush.

As a matter of fact, if Chávez were really interested in encouraging integration with the other Andean nations and Mercosur, he would drop Yanqui baseball like the proverbial hot potato and go heel bent to develop a great futbol team in Venezuela. The Vinhotintos are the only team from CONMEBOL (the conference for the Ibero-American South American countries) that have never qualified for the World Cup.

I would also other abother issue is buffoonery.

In theory, the State department advocates the interests of the United States, not gwb in particular. But even in your more limited formulation, I think both parties (and their respective countries) would find the pacification of Colombia desirable.

National, if not personal, interest aside, both would probably support higher oil prices, an American invasion of Iran,a decline in the influence of OAS and MERCOSUR,the demise of the ICC,and the implentation of the "unitary executive." That last one might not count.

Some ideas:

1) Preventing the spread of AIDS
2) Deflecting incoming asteroids
3) Preventing reform of electronic voting machines
4) Defending against invading spacecraft
5) Ensuring that the spice (oil) flows
6) Increases in domestic pork spending
7) Promoting the next World Baseball Classic
8) Chatting up religious leaders to support the government
9) Banking in Zurich

We have a common interest in avoiding replacing Chavez with someone worse, like a drug dealer on CIA pay.

We have a common interest to keep Venezuela as a country going and hungry for petrodollars.

We have a common interest in avoiding civil war + total chaos in Venezuela and its possible invasion by those Dutch colonialists from Aruba.

We also agree that the Carribbean should be free from pirate galleons.

Each has a mutual interest in seeing the other IN POWER but ineffective.

Demagoguery?

I'm going to have to say "clearing brush," because I'm not aware that W. has any other hobbies.

I hear he also likes drinking Johnnie Walker Blue...

Abolition of term limits.

Oil? Baseball, really-- look at their roster for the WBC (http://ww2.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/rosters/index.jsp?sid=t944 because i'm not smart enough to put an html tag into blog comments)
pitching alone-- santana, the zambrano's, miggy cabrera, abreau, mags, v-mart, its a fantasy baseball all star team.

Really, it should have been a cake-walk for the chavez-istas through the WBC. How could they have blown it? I was sure they would be greeted as liberators!

Getting the Bush daughters out of Argentina?