Mr. Chavez responded by referring to Bush as the devil no fewer than eight times during his 2006 U.N. address. This year, Mr. Chavez complimented but also chided Mr. Obama for saying one thing and doing another. There may be two Obamas, he said. And more than a few Americans thought he might have a point.
One Obama is loquacious and inspiring. The other seems somewhat removed from threatening realities and people who don't share our appreciation for visionary rhetoric. Some folks simply aren't talk-able. Some nations just aren't that into us.
Mr. Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, brothers in their own declared "axis of unity," are cases in point. They're building financial partnerships that may make sanctions irrelevant, and have promised each other military support and cooperation.
While in New York last week, Mr. Chavez appeared on "Larry King Live." The former altar boy said he loves Jesus, Walt Whitman and Charles Bronson, and that he loves to sing. He isn't power hungry, as some claim, nor is he mining uranium for Mr. Ahmadinejad, as suggested in a report last December by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
He, alas, has been misunderstood.
And Iran? Just days before Mr. Obama and five other leaders are scheduled to meet in Geneva today to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Islamic Republic test-fired long-range missiles.
In the new era of talk diplomacy, we might call that a pre-emptive strike - a nonverbal gesture worth a million moot words. Then again, there's always hope.
Kathleen Parker's column appears regularly in The Baltimore Sun. Her e-mail is kathleenparker@washpost.com.
