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Showing Original Post only (View all)Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me [View all]
Source: Reuters
"I hope this doesn't harm Obama, but if I was from the United States, I'd vote for Obama," the socialist Chavez said of a man he first reached out to in 2009 but to whom he has since generally been insulting.
Chavez is running for a new six-year term against opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, while Obama seeks re-election in November against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Venezuela's election is next weekend.
"Obama is a good guy ... I think that if Obama was from Barlovento or some Caracas neighbourhood, he'd vote for Chavez," the president told state TV, referring to a poor coastal town known for the African roots of its population.
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He called former U.S. President George W. Bush a "drunk" and the "devil." After an initial overture to Obama came to nothing, he said the new president had disappointed progressives the world over and was the "shame" of Africans.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/chavez-obama-id-vote-173530973.html
There has been a lot of criticism of Chavez here that frankly should be embarrassing to DU, but this time, I think he made a mistake.
Chavez has gotten so much bad press here (unfairly for the most part) that his endorsement of Obama will get a lot more mileage as a stick the right will use to beat Obama than persuading anyone here to vote for him.
Then again, anything that makes the right apoplectic may make them look more unreasonable and unhinged to swing voters, so what the hell.