I've been kind of puzzled by that too, Carol. I understand perfectly why Ake dislikes the 2-party system in America, but I can't figure what it is that he likes about Sarah Palin. I mean, aside from those conspiratorial winks that she favors us with now and then. ;-)

Sawzaw - I think Chavez is a socialist in a number of respects. He's also a populist. And he's a man with a big ego who would like to have more extensive powers than he ought to have. I other words, like you said awhile back, he's gets some things right and he gets some things wrong...same as the rest of us. He's very popular with the majority of the poorer people in Venezuela and has been winning democratic elections despite the efforts of the rich people and the CIA to end his government...so I have to say on the whole that I am reasonably well impressed with Mr Chavez. I prefer him to America's kind of pet Latin American dictator by a long shot.

But.....I haven't seen anything that would make me think Obama's a socialist. Heh! I think it's about as likely he is a socialist as that George Bush is a Buddhist.

If he gets endorsed by some socialist group...so?   What does that prove? It proves they like him better than McCain, that's all, and that's no big surprise.