VHeadline.com commentarist Mary MacElveen writes: The above statement, referring to Venezuela's democratically-elected President, Hugo Chavez Frias: "We just don't like him" was made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before she was appointed to her current position.

In "US campaign to ring Chavez alarm fails to resonate" an unidentified congressional aide (who did not want to be named because he was relating a private conversation) said "a bipartisan delegation of US legislators met Condoleezza Rice before she became Secretary of State to urge her to reach out to Chavez."

So ... this is how we base our foreign policy towards another country?

That phrase in itself sounds as if it could come from Bush himself...

The other day, someone emailed me (referring to Chavez) stating "he has no idea how a Head of State should behave in public, and his call for the destruction of America is troubling to say the least."

First of all, he is not calling for the destruction of America ... but more on that later.

Second, could it be that he reacts as he does especially when such brilliant words are said of him by someone close to the president?

As Larry Birns of the Washington based think-tank the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) wrote: "But they have cried wolf too often. Without serious evidence, you can't take their accusations seriously."

Oh I am not that sure, Mr. Birns ... there are those within our country who will still blindly follow this president without fully knowing the facts.

It seems evidence does not mean anything in this country (USA) especially when you still have those believing Saddam Hussein had a connection to 9/11.  Believe me when I say that I have met them ... I have shown them the facts from the many articles that I have read and written. One response was "Oh you are one of them intellectuals" or the non-responses where they just huff’. It almost reminds me of that P.T. Barnum quote: "there's a sucker born every minute and two to take him.”

Well we intellectuals tried to tell these suckers concerning the lies that lead to our invasion of Iraq ... and they believed a liar.

Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States said (of the right wingers) ... "they fear Chavez' ideology of spreading oil wealth to the majority poor resonates in a region rejecting American-prescribed free-market models."

Oh I believe that they are afraid.

We are all seeing how poorly the right is leading us through many of their failed policies both foreign and domestic. So, they have to point the finger of blame at someone. They can't blame their president ... so why not enrage the United States and say "President Chavez is the threat!”

Excuse me? But, who is the threat to our country?

The threat to our country resides in our White House ... or in Crawford, Texas. You know ... the man who takes way too many vacations as the poor in this country go without. In my opinion, this is a distraction to get people's focus off of how badly they are being served. I call it the "Three-card Monte" of politics.

• If President Chavez was truly calling for the destruction of America, would he be looking for ways to provide discounted heating oil for the poor in our country?

Winter is fast approaching, and if something is not done by this administration to deal with this problem, I fear for the poor ... even as a middle class mother of two, I too fear how high the cost will be to heat my home. I am almost afraid to call my oil company to come fill up my oil tank. I have already told my children we will be wearing heavy sweaters around the house this winter.

At least President Chavez is aware how high our oil bills are and wants to help. His compassionate plan sure does not sound like a threat to me. What it clearly shows is that he understands those that are not within the top one percent.  Americans should be demanding of every elected official to let him supply this discounted oil.

President Chavez said “there's a lot of poverty in the United States and don’t believe that everything reflects the 'American Way of Life.' Many people die of cold in winter. Many die of heat in summer, many unemployed die of starvation.”

Finally there is a President out there ... albeit not ours ... who understands what is going on in this country. Lately our esteemed president has been traveling the country to sell a war since his approval ratings are down and the approval ratings of his war are sinking. President Chavez then went on to say: “we could have an impact on seven to eight million persons!”

Well that is 7-8 million more that could be done that has not been done by the Bush administration.

Chavez also wants to provide free eye operations to poor communities in the United States and as millions go without health care, is that an act of a dictator?

His plan calls for Cuba to provide the bulk of the operations, with Venezuela providing the transportation. If Cuba is part of this plan, I am of the opinion the Cuban embargo must come to an end if they can help provide these operations.

When our poor and uninsured Americans cannot get these operations here, why not in Cuba?  According to Chavez' plan there would be 150,000 slots available to US citizens per year over a 10-year period.

What has Bush done for these people to help repair their sight?

The plan to provide operations on such conditions as cataracts, myopia, pigmentary retinosis and many others is called "Mission Miracle." It sounds far better than Bush's "Mission Accomplished" ... it enhances life and does not end it.

In light of Pat Robertson's death threats against the democratically-elected President of Venezuela, this is how a compassionate leader reaches out to the poor and powerless in this country.

This is how a true man of faith reacts.

I can tell you that those who do not support Bush and his agenda say of him: "We just don't like him!"

Mary MacElveen
xmjmac@optonline.net