海角大神

Presidential candidates are usually happy to tout public support from prominent figures 鈥� see Mitt Romney trading back slaps with John Elway Monday night after receiving the former NFL quarterback鈥檚 nod.

But don鈥檛 expect President Obama to trumpet this endorsement: Hugo Ch谩vez, Venezuela鈥檚 populist Socialist president and longtime thorn in America鈥檚 side, says he鈥檇 vote for Mr. Obama.

What鈥檚 more, the former military coup leader turned spearhead of Latin America鈥檚 leftist lurch says he鈥檚 sure that were Obama eligible to vote in Venezuela鈥檚 elections this Sunday, he鈥檇 pick Mr. Ch谩vez.

Ch谩vez's endorsement seemed certain to rouse the fringe of conservative voters in the US who insist that Obama is a closet Socialist. Perhaps the only more provocative thing Ch谩vez could have thrown out there, after claiming that the US president has his back,聽is that Obama was actually born in Venezuela. 聽

Ch谩vez, who pals around with the likes of Cuba鈥檚 Fidel Castro and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and who once compared President George W. Bush to the devil, is no fan of the US and has spent his 14 years in office blasting America鈥檚 influence in Latin America.

But he has shown a soft spot for Obama. In the TV interview where he handed out his endorsement, he calls Obama 鈥渁 good guy.鈥� After Obama鈥檚 election in 2008, Ch谩vez called him 鈥渁n intelligent man鈥� and compared him to President John Kennedy.

Obama and Ch谩vez met at a Summit of the Americas in 2009, shook hands, and Ch谩vez presented Obama with a book, 鈥淥pen Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.鈥�

Relations went nowhere after that. Obama kept his distance from an increasingly authoritarian Ch谩vez, cautioning the Venezuelan leader against opening his arms to Mr. Ahmadinejad. Obama also advanced ties with Venezuela鈥檚 next-door neighbor and rival, Colombia, completing a free-trade agreement that went into effect in May. 聽

In a TV interview during a campaign stop in Miami over the summer, Obama spoke of Iran鈥檚 strengthened ties with Venezuela and some other Latin American countries. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always concerned about Iran engaging in destabilizing activity around the globe," he said. But 鈥渙verall, my sense is that what Mr. Ch谩vez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact on us.鈥�

Obama added that his 鈥渕ain concern鈥� about Venezuela is whether the people there have the democratic space to 鈥渉ave a voice in their affairs鈥� and that they have 鈥渇ree and fair elections鈥� 鈥� which, he added, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 always see.鈥�

In endorsing Obama, Ch谩vez either doesn鈥檛 understand or simply doesn鈥檛 care that receiving a Socialist leader鈥檚 endorsement is not exactly doing the US president any favors. It may also be that Ch谩vez genuinely sees a better chance for improved US-Venezuela relations under Obama. In his interview, he said, "I wish we could begin a new period of normal relations with the government of the United States." On the other hand, those may simply be the words of a practiced politician who faces an electorate that by and large does not favor a confrontational approch to the US.

But another Socialist president, France鈥檚 Fran莽ois Hollande, seems to grasp that the S-word is not one that most American politicians looking to win would choose to associate with. Asked by a French reporter last week at the United Nations in New York whether he supports Obama or Mr. Romney for president, Mr. Hollande declined to say, explaining, 鈥淵ou can imagine what difficulty it would cause either candidate to be supported by a French Socialist!鈥�

With Romney making a play this week to erode Obama鈥檚 high marks with voters on foreign policy and national security, the Republican challenger may be tempted to jump on the Ch谩vez endorsement as an example of what he means when he says Obama is not 鈥渞esolute鈥� enough with America鈥檚 adversaries.

But he may want to reconsider, lest he provide an opening for the Obama camp to remind voters how Romney looked more arrogant than resolute toward one of America鈥檚 closest allies this summer, when he questioned on British soil London鈥檚 preparations for what turned out to be smashing Summer Olympic Games.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is also too smart to publicly endorse a candidate for US president. But he gave a hint of what he thought of Romney and his critique when he took a swipe at Romney鈥檚 much-vaunted job running the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, sniffing, 鈥淥f course it鈥檚 easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.鈥�