I opposed the referendum in Venezuela, I'm happy it failed, but I respect Chavez for honoring it

[ShaneGR]

My main opposition to the referendum was two points: unlimited presidential terms (president for life as the media called it) and increased power over the seizure of private property. I also have a ton of issues with his rhetoric for the last few weeks. He pushed way too far to the left and started to sound like a communist, and he failed. With that said, I respect that he has come out and said he respects the vote and he'll follow by it. Hopefully he won't eventually disregard this and try again to continue his term past 2012.

[JDPriestly]

1. Same here.

The world is very tired of fanatics. Bushies, please note what happened to Chavez. We in America are also tired of fanatics.

Let's hope Chavez does not pull a Larry Craig.

[cyclezealot]

2. Its ok to criticize Chazev

He has gotten too big. As long as its not the CIA. The CIA's role is what likely made Chavez as militant as he has become. Some national leaders get ticked when foreign governments try to overthrow them.

[ShaneGR]

3. It appears that Venezuelans decided this issue fairly, as it should be

And I'm glad for that.

[L. Coyote]

4. The three exit polls with 7-10% victories for YES may be a problem still.

The proposal was to over-reaching, and that was a mistake. Term limits matter not, since the people chose the President. The emergency powers and issues of protection of human rights reduced support, in my view.

I expect there will be a better proposal in the future, one more carefully considered. Meanwhile, he is acting as a leader should, in the interest of the entire community.

[Azathoth]

5. I think we're jumping the gun thinking that Chavez will honor it

His concession remarks were commendable, but he reminds me far too much of Bush. I suspect that he will do exactly what Bush does when the Congress or the Supreme Court slaps him down: announce that he understands and respects what has happened, then simply ignore it or do an end run around it.