While Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is just days away from what might be the toughest election of his career, he's decided to lend some very much unwelcome support to another presidential campaign.
Yes, the controversial Venezuelan leader has all but officially endorsed Barack Obama. Uh, well, at least Barack isn't not getting Fidel Castro's support yet.
"In the point of view of his politics, if I were voting, I would vote for Obama," Chavez told a state-owned TV station. "And I believe that if Obama was from Caracas, he would vote for Chavez, I am positive."
Chavez went on to call Obama a "good guy," which is a lot better than when he called George W. Bush a "devil" and a "drunk."
Chavez had previously compared Obama to John F. Kennedy and called him "highly intelligent" shortly after his election in 2008, so it's not exactly a new line of thought for Chavez. Obama himself spoke about Chavez in July saying, "Overall my sense is that what Mr. Chavez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact on us."
"My main concern when it comes to Venezuela is having the Venezuelan people have a voice in their affairs," he continued. "And that you end up ultimately having fair and free elections, which we don't always see."
Venezuelans will go to the polls on October 7, but it may not be shaping up to be the most fair and free of elections -- especially for citizens who lived here in Miami. Chavez closed the Miami consulate earlier this year, and now all Venezuelans who live in Florida will have to travel to another consulate, the nearest of which is in New Orleans, to cast a ballot.
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