a small dose of reality

But Hugo, there is a problem.  The "devil' doesn't know and doesn't care.  You jackass.

Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez on Sunday promised hundreds of thousands of supporters he would win a resounding victory in his December 3 reelection bid he describes as a challenge to Washington.

Even I know Chavez is the devil....even when I am totally stoned

"We are confronting the devil, and we will hit a home run off the devil next Sunday," said Chavez, who ruffled feathers in October by calling President Bush the devil in remarks at the United Nations.

"On December 3 we're going to defeat the most powerful empire on earth by knockout," Chavez said.  Huh?  Is Chavez using fake Viagra AGAIN.

"Whoever talks first will turn into a donkey," he thundered, only to break into his unmistakable giggle.  That make Chavez a jackass by his own rules.

The Reality

The weekend, with massive government and opposition rallies choking the capital's streets, reflected the country's political polarization.

Residents in expensive sports-utility vehicles honked their horns in protest and shouted the opposition slogan "Dare."

The demonstrations themselves were also markedly different, with Chavez's joking spontaneity contrasting with Rosales' emotional but stern and unsmiling appearance in the opposition's Saturday march.

Rosales in August united a fractured opposition movement that failed to oust Chavez through a botched coup and a grueling two-month oil strike in 2002 and a failed recall referendum in 2004.

Chavez has sparked outcries among middle class critics who call him an authoritarian.

The State Department describes him as a menace to regional democracy.