On Hugo Chavez.

Hugo Chavez is many things.  His supporters know him as President, Humanitarian, and the “Savior of Venezuela”.  Opponents call him other things, however, like Dictator, or a “Threat to Democracy”.  Whichever side is right doesn’t mean he’s not an important player in the drama of the world today: TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2006, with good reason.  His Socialist agenda has changed the face of Venezuela, and his outspoken rhetoric has polarized the globe.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

At the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago this last week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shook hands with U.S. President Barack Obama.  Big deal, you might say, and you’d be right.  This IS a big deal.  Chavez has put so much energy into bashing the U.S. over the past few years that some have said the sole reason for his successful reelection campaigns has been his Anti-Americanism.  But now he’s shaking hands with Obama?  Something’s got to give.

WHY DO WE CARE?

This single, simple handshake is an immediate illustration of the sea change in America’s status in its detractors’ eyes since the 2008 Presidential election—not to mention a drastic shift in America’s own foreign policy.  In August 2005, tensions were so tight between Chavez and the US’s right wing that televangelist Pat Robertson went so far as to advocate that the U.S. assassinate Chavez as a cheaper way of unseating the “strong-arm dictator” than a “$200-billion war.”

A year later, at the UN General Assembly, Chavez spoke one day after then-President George W. Bush, and referred to that fact in his speech.  “The devil came here yesterday," he said, “and it smells of sulfur still today.”

Obama’s critics, such as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (in an interview on Fox News), say that the handshake— among other Obama encounters with U.S. opponents—“sets the wrong standard.”  Cheney goes on to say that the meeting might show other countries that they’re now “dealing with a weak president or one who is not going to stand up and aggressively defend America's interests.”

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that maybe Cheney doesn’t have the best perspective when it comes to seeing how other countries view the United States.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?

Obama and Chavez are already in talks to reinstate the embassies to each other’s countries—a move in which I see almost no downside.  Embassies mean communication, and communication with Venezuela, one of the U.S.’s largest oil suppliers, can pay big dividends for both countries.

But there’s a bigger picture as well—that of the whole world.  For Iran and North Korea to see that one of George W. Bush’s greatest foes is now willing to talk, smile, and shake hands with the new American President is a huge step in the right direction.  This new guy must be worth talking to.