HOW IS HUGO? – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:   A story that has gone under the radar is now gaining greater traction.  What's wrong with Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan thug and hero to American leftists and assorted movie "stars"?  From the Miami Herald:

CARACAS — The mystery illness afflicting President Hugo Chávez — confined to a hospital in Havana since 10 June, after an emergency operation to treat a "pelvic abscess" — has brought into sharp focus the absence of any credible replacement for the man his followers like to call the comandante-presidente.

Despite assurances by government leaders and the president's family that he is on the mend and will be home "in 10-12 days," the lack of detailed information about Chávez´s condition has brought inevitable speculation that it could be life-threatening.

An Italian paper is reporting that American intelligence sources say Chavez is in critical condition, but we have no independent confirmation of that. 

Surrounded by "yes-men" and with his ruling Socialist (PSUV) party divided by faction-fighting and short on leadership, Chávez would leave a vacuum that might be impossible to fill.

Maybe the Venezuelan people would get a break, and we'd get rid of a thorn.  Remember that one of Chavez's strongest alliances is with Iran, and there is evidence that Iran is helping Venezuela with military technology.

"For the moment, the president is indispensable," says Nicmer Evans, a political science professor at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. "It's not ideal, but I believe it is a political reality."

According to the official version, Chávez experienced abdominal pain while in a meeting with Cuba's Fidel Castro, and was rushed to hospital. Since then, the only images of him that have emerged have been photographs published by the Cuban newspaper Granma.

Watch.  They'll blame BUSH (!!).

June 25, 2011