POLL: CHAVEZ...what are YOUR sentiments on this leader?

[Selatius]

This is a general poll of attitudes towards him. I'm not looking for specifics as much as a general sense of attitude. For example, we see polls of Bush and whether you "approve" or "disapprove" of him, and they usually don't list criteria from which to judge.

The only difference is this isn't a binary poll, though.

[Ken Burch]

1. "There's MOSTLY NOTHING BAD about this leader"?

Does that concept exist in the English language?

[Selatius]

2. I see your point

It was a rush job on my part, but I hope you get the gist of what I was aiming at.

[Ken Burch]

15. Yeah, I do. No worries.

I just love finding weird syntax, that's all.

[dweller]

3. VIVA CHAVEZ !!

i don't do polls.

dp

[unkachuck]

17. do you do Hungarians?

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. My overall view of him tends to be somewhat guardedly positive.

Under his leadership the poor of Venezuela, who were formerly marginalised, have a voice and political power, and he's done much for the cause of social justice. But that aside, I find some of his potentially anti-democratic tendencies to be somewhat troubling--and this might just be my bias as the product of a Western liberal democracy speaking, but I also find the idea of a democratic leader who makes it a habit to dress in military uniform rather unnerving (if a US president started giving press conferences in jungle fatigues and combat boots, I would definitely be worried). He's done much that's admirable, but there are things that keep me from being COMPLETELY positive in my opinion of him.

[intaglio]

5. Sentiments lean toward good

But he's a politician and you cannot trust any of them

[gkdmaths]

6. eh, blowhard

looking for a stage to dance on. Maybe?

Im generally indifferent towards him so far.

flame away, I guess.

:7

[lvx35]

7. Looks great relative to Bush, but if we had a good Dem president

he'd look like a pushy nationalistic egotist. Unfortunatly our own pushy national egotist makes him look like a saint.

[Ken Burch]

16. Please tell me that that wouldn't mean that if we had "a good Democratic

president" that you wouldn't support that "good Democratic president" carrying out the same policies against Chavez that the Dubster has put in place. The last thing we need is another "Bay of Pigs".
Thank God the first one didn't work out or Cuba would be under something like the Guatemalan military junta.

Unfortunately, we can assume that Hillary will be just as terrible on Latin America policy as Dubya is.
pro "Free Trade" types never give a damn about the poor in Latin America.

[lvx35]

19. What I'm saying is that if we had somebody morally superior to Chavez,

we could criticize him, and there's plenty to criticize. However, anybody who would talk about a bay of pigs invasion of venezuela is DEEPLY morally inferior to Chavez, simply because Chavez has not invaded the US...(Hell, he's donated to help our poor!) So no, I wouldn't back a dem who is against him in that way. But I am saying is that there are some dems out there who I think could be morally better than Chavez.

[Ken Burch]

21. Thanks for the clarification.

nt.

[xchrom]

8. he's alright.

he takes care of his people -- and his business.

people forget the source of argiment with hugo is the u.s attempt to overthrow him.

if we had minded our business and let the people of venezuela decide their own future{which is what happened anyway} not much would be being said about hugo period.

[Dutch]

9. My sentiments lean towards good.

I usually find myself defending him pretty fiercely because he's the victim of so much venom and distortions from the neo-cons and wealthy Venezuelans who have spent decades not lifting a finger whilst their countrymen live in squalor. I certainly think he's done a lot for the ordinary people of his country- who have after all rewarded him with consistent and overwhelming electoral support- and the idea that Venezuela has become an oppressive dictatorship under him is at best a paranoid delusion. But his choices of foreign leaders to do business with often leaves a lot to be desired (though they're driven by self-interest like those of most if not all countries), and I think he does have authoritarian tendencies- although examples of this are usually blown way out of proportion by his opponents.

[Selatius]

10. Kick, wanna see some more input. n/t

[OhioChick]

11. Hmmmm......

Better than bush.

[Minstrel Boy]

12. I can't say there's "nothing bad" about anybody

Even my wife has faults, but I love her.

I love Chavez, too. Though not in the same way.

[Nutmegger]

13. I think he's all right.

So much of the M$M focuses on Chavez's anti-Bush comments. As if it's a big surprise that someone has these opinions. Yet they fail to mention the US backed coup to overthrow a DEMOCRATICALLY elected president. I'd be pissed off too if I were him.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. I'm sure there are bad things about Chavez.

I haven't heard them myself, but I'm sure there are.

:shrug:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

18. Is there an option for...

"There's a fucking election two months from now, and there's more important shit to deal with than Mr Big Mouth?"

[bridgit]

20. sadly, no...