Chavez = Musharaf = who's next

Okay, so the idea of Hugo Chavez being willing to serve "for life if the people want it" sounds uncomfortably like other mild and not so mild despots we have known (great title for a book, obviously: Despots I Have Known. It could be about Stalin's soft side, about Mugabe's gardening habits and how endearing King Saud can be in the morning, cigar breath and all). Though I feel conflicted in general about Chavez -- it's really refreshing to see someone stand up to Bush -- I'm not sure how easy I am with the idea of someone signing themselves up to be President-for-Life...that is, if the people will it. There are far too many examples of this approach going disastrously wrong, all throughout South America.