Time To Wash Off That Sulphur

Was calling George W. Bush "el diablo" (multiple times) really the best use of Hugo Chavez's time? While he's only ever enjoyed electoral landslides in the past, two polls from Venezuela show Chavez stuck around 50 percent in his re-election bid. In a Hinterlaces poll, he leads opposition candidate Manuel Rosales 48-30; in a Penn, Schoen & Berland poll, he leads 50-37. Assuming the U.S. doesn't do anything stupid, like bigfoot its way into the election against Chavez, he could get a bloody nose—or even a defeat—via that democracy stuff we hear so much about.

(Worth mentioning: a Datanálisis poll shows Chavez with a much bigger, 58-17 lead. The difference is in the screening of answers.)