We should all feel good about Hugo Chavez's victory.Not just for the

[Veggie Meathead]

margin of victory or the astounding turnout by people who,like our black voters have been disenfranchised for many years but the courage which Hugo Chavez showed in entrusting his fate to the people.He could easily have weaseled his way out of this referendum using any one of the many pretexts available to those in power and yet chose not to do so.This is the very essence of Democracy,something that eludes our own officeholder and his mouthpiece, Condilizard.Even as the landslide margin of Chavez's victory was becoming apparent, Condilizard claimed that this still does not make him legitimate!

I believe Hugo Chavez has, singlehandedly delegitimized the pretender at the WH, whose arrogance, sense of entitlement, contempt for our institutions and our Constitution stand in stark contrast to Chavez's reverence for the will of the people.Add to this referendum, the peaceful way it was conducted and the gesture of reconciliation that Chavez showed to his political enemies, you have the making of a towering international statesman that all Americans, North and South, can be proud of.

The only lesson that Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld should draw from this resounding defeat of their supporters in Venezuela is that the world is tired of their lies, belief in violence and brute force, greed and preying on the weak.But, like many occassions before, I doubt they will.And, we Americans are going to pay an enormous price in the years to come.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Too bad we Americans don't value democracy as much.

Just like in South Africa when they got to finally vote, and now in Venezuela, seeing all those poor people lining up to vote, makes one weep how little value, or even interest, too many Americans take in their own freedom.

[Veggie Meathead]

4. You are absolutely on the mark.While our pampered rich show no

interest in exercising their right to vote, millions in S.Africa, Venezuela and India,far poorer than us, treat this right as a sacred
duty and wait patiently for hours on end to cast their vote.What is more,these people have leaders who treat this with the same reverence: Nelson Mandela,Sonia Gandhi and now, Hugo Chavez.

Bush and his cabal have robbed us of our pride in our own Constitution
in addition to the many crimes they continue to perpetrate in our name.When they go, as go they must, it would not be soon enough for all of us.

[Ruffhowse]

2. Chavez has one major thing over Chimpy/Cheney-he was elected TWICE ...

by popular vote. Chimpy/Cheney couldn't manage that even once. Now who is illegitimate?

[Old and In the Way]

3. Seems to be almost a news blackout on the election results.......

do you think our corporate media doesn't want to disturb the miasma of the non-voting public here, who believe their vote doesn't count?

[Veggie Meathead]

5. It is not that our poor do not want to vote.There has been a

concerted effort on the part of Bush ( George and Jeb)to deny voting rights in myriad ways to our black and hispanic voters.

[Old and In the Way]

6. 50% of the voting population doesn't bother.

I hate GWB as much as the next guy....but he got selected because the vast majority of the non-voters couldn't be bothered to do their civic duty. I do think that the corporate media has had a corrosive effect on democracy. And I'm old enough to remember when there were classes called civics. Who's teaching these values? There's precious little education of the electorate on the issues and the differences between the parties. Corporate mainstream media delivers the message that Nader preaches...there's no difference between the parties.

I'm not saying that there isn't abuse and some disenfranchisement happening, particularly in Florida in the last election. But that still leaves about 50MM people with no excuse.

[K-W]

7. Certainly not, and the republicans want to drive turnout down more.

As long as turnout is low the right wing wacko minority can dictate our government.