Hugo Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me
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CARACAS (Reuters) - With both presidents facing tight re-election fights, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave a surprise endorsement to Barack Obama on Sunday - and said the U.S. leader no doubt felt the same.
"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.
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"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.
Chavez is one of the world's most strident critics of Washington and his 14 years in office have been characterized by diplomatic spats and insults at the White House.
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.
But Chavez was back in a conciliatory mood in a TV interview with friend and former vice president Jose Vicente Rangel.
While international endorsements do not directly mean votes for U.S. candidates this one is something special. Chavez is well known as an efficient administrator and an excellent judge of character.
His standing on the world stage lends a certain aura of prestige to the Obama campaign, and promises to propel Obama into the ranks of our great Presidents, along with fellow former Illinois resident Abraham Lincoln.
Over history, there have been certain figures, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela whose reputations transcended both national boundaries and generations. Hugo Chavez, as one of those, is an important supporter of Obama's drive to prevent the U.S. from returning to reaction and bigotry.