On Hugo Chavez

Personally, I feel that any opportunity to see Chavez on television warrants viewing. I think he is of vital importance, and it is clear that he is a political leader like no other. He is growing to be more of a politician every year, but he is not a person who is consumed by a desire for revenge in any way. No, there is no revenge-seeking in Chavez at all. Some people criticize him for meeting with controversial heads of state, as if he should not seek out a place in the world's political forums, but I say he is only doing so for the his own personal safety and the ensure the continual security of Venezuela. I also have the feeling that the immediacy of his socialist project and his plans to re-distribute wealth in Venezuelan society demand that he investigate alternatives to the pathological weaknesses inherent in the nature of consumer capitalism.