MAYBE OBAMA COULD FLY DOWN FOR A BOOSTER SPEECH - AT 8:40 A.M. ET:  It seems that one of the left's favorite thugs is having some political trouble.  If he fizzles out, who will the Hollywood stars embrace?  This is a crisis.  From AP:

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez's popularity has slipped and a majority of Venezuelans view the situation in their country negatively, according to a poll published Tuesday.

The survey by the Caracas-based polling firm Datanalisis found that 46 percent responded positively when asked how they view Chavez's presidency, down from 53 percent a month earlier.

The survey, published by the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, also found that 59 percent said they saw the situation in the country as negative.

The results are based on the responses of 1,300 randomly selected Venezuelans questioned between Sept. 23 and Oct. 8. The poll had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

Pro-Chavez congressman Alberto Castelar said he believes Datanalisis underestimated Chavez's popularity. But the polling firm's past findings have been close to election results.

COMMENT:  Let's not pop the corks yet.  The pollster noted that Chavez remains the most popular politician in the country, boosting his standing, in part, by pressure on the press for favorable news reports. 

And control of the government means control of the election machinery. 

I suspect the buffoon will be around for a time, but his decline in popularity should allow us at least one cheer.

October 28, 2009