Ugh. In 1998, as a young pinko, I thought that this guy was going to be interesting, maybe even positive, but I was never so silly to view him as the GREAT HOPE OF THE LEFT...that would be idiotic. Well, he's certainly interesting, but this isn't positive, the man is losing it. This entire situation will end poorly....

Life is quite complex and maybe some people feel that we should not be too hasty in judgement. That said, in some situations, there are criteria to decide quickly and easily on a political movement or a person. In this example, you have a person, a government and a party that proponents and allies claim to be democratic, and even respectful of civil liberties. Whether they are or not, can be answered simply: How well do dissent, protest and anonymous opinions sit with the guy/group?

Answer: Not well at all, in the case of Hugo Chavez. No matter that he is maybe not able yet to restrict access to Twitter in Venezuela... Mighty Chavez has struck out with this one. One for RCTV TV station, two for the radio stations and circuits closed, three for Twitter and stadium protests. The guy cannot be held to be a democrat in any meaningful way.