Chavez 1, Bush 0

It’s never enjoyable to be mocked by a socialist dictator, but Hugo Chavez of Venezuela scores some solid points as he welcomes comrade Bush to the socialist camp. Reuters also reports that Chavez says Bush is both “clueless” and to the “left of me.” Whether he’s right about Bush, Chavez certainly is right about the aptitude of anyone to his left:

Socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mocked George W. Bush as a “comrade” on Wednesday, saying the U.S. president was a hard‐​line leftist for his government’s intervention of major private banks in the U.S. financial crisis. Chavez, who calls capitalism an evil and ex‐​Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, ridiculed Bush for his plan for the federal government to take equity in American banks… “Bush is to the left of me now,” Chavez told an audience of international intellectuals debating the benefits of socialism. “Comrade Bush announced he will buy shares in private banks.” Chavez, who has insulted Bush in the past as a drunkard or the devil, called him clueless on Wednesday. He accused him of simply parroting the words of his aides without understanding the new policies that rely on heavy state intervention.