CHAVEZ and BUSH

The death of Hugo Chavez yesterday saddens me. He was a colorful dude, and we won't see  his like again. To me (no expert) he seemed the sort of political leader who excelled at getting elected but lacked the wisdom to lead effectively. Clearly his heart was with the poor of the world. When he first took office, I supported him, drawn by his courage and charisma. When he changed the Venezuelan constitution so he could be elected in perpetuity, I dropped my meaningless support. He'd made a foolish decision, and he went on to make others. But unlike a worse corrupter of the democratic process, George W. Bush, Chavez never killed people by the thousands. He did not rejigger laws to profit the rich at the expense of everyone else.