Washington Post Applauds Bush on Latin America

As one of the bulwarks of the left side of the MSM, the Washington Post editorial page is not studded with frequent encomiums of GWB's foreign policy. However, GWB now has an opponent who makes him look as smart as dBill Clinton by comparison. Who else but Venezuela's oafish lout of an elected caudillo, Hugo Chavez.

Even in Mexico and Brazil, where politics tilts left as naturally as the Leaning Tower in Pisa, leftish leaders and lefty candidates are beginning to distance themselves from the over-eager, clumsy, rude and stupid wannabe regional hegemon Hugo. Even Daniel Ortega is having second thoughts in his quest for elected office in Nicaragua. But here are the WaPo judgments on Fidel Castro's pet monkey:

Mr. Chavez is the object of a growing backlash from leaders around Latin America -- from Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Nicaragua, among other countries. In part, the politicians are responding to foolish overreaching by Mr. Chavez, who has been busy trying to turn Bolivia into a satellite state while suggesting he has similar plans for much of the rest of the continent. Latin Americans don't like imperialism, whether it comes from Washington or Caracas. And even leftist leaders, like those who rule in Brazil and elsewhere in South America, find it hard to imagine themselves prospering in a Venezuela-led economic bloc that includes Cuba but shuns the United States.

The other reason Latins have found their anti-Chavez tongues is delightfully pragmatic: It's a proven vote-getter. Elections are taking place or are on the way in a host of Central and South American countries -- and politicians in most of them are finding that linking their opponents to Venezuela's demagogue works wonders. The biggest beneficiary may be Peru's Alan Garcia, who is the front-runner in Sunday's presidential election runoff. Mr. Garcia is himself a leftist populist who two decades ago presided over one of the most disastrously incompetent governments in Peruvian history. But his opponent, a former military coup-plotter named Ollanta Humala, has been endorsed by Mr. Chavez, and Mr. Garcia has focused his campaign on that point, saying only he can prevent Peru from becoming "a colony of Venezuela." It's a logical strategy: Mr. Chavez's approval rating in Peru is 17%.

Granted that a buffoon like Chavez makes a great side-by-side comparison stooge, but the Washington Post does give Condoleeza Rice's State Dept. scant credit even though she has been very effective in modulating US policy vis-a-vis troublemakers like Venezuela and Iran:

The Bush administration, which has haplessly allowed Mr. Chavez to exploit the U.S. president as a political foil for years, has hit on just the right response as it has watched Peruvians and Mexicans turn the tables on the Venezuelan: It has kept quiet. The sight of Latin Americans rising up in defense of democratic values, and against the attempt of a would-be regional hegemonist to subvert them, is inspiring -- and it requires nothing from Washington save discreet applause.

Bravo, GWB & Condi! That editorial may even make the talking-head shows Sunday morning!