Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: “If I Was From The United States, I’d Vote For Obama.” “This isn’t an endorsement President Obama will claim. Hugo Chavez, the socialist president of Venezuela, told state television: ‘I hope this doesn’t harm Obama, but if I was from the United States, I’d vote for Obama.’ Chavez, who like Obama is seeking re-election, also called the American president ‘a good guy,’ reports Reuters. ‘I think that if Obama was from Barlovento or some Caracas neighborhood, he’d vote for Chavez,’ said the Venezuela leader.” (David Jackson, “Obama Gets Endorsement He Doesn’t Want — From Chavez,” USA Today, 10/1/12) 

Obama Greeted Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez Warmly At The Summit Of The Americas In 2009. “Presidents Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez have met for the first time, shaking hands as the Summit of the Americas gets under way in Trinidad and Tobago. Photos released by the Venezuelan government show the two smiling and Obama touching Chavez on the shoulder. The Venezuelan presidency says Obama initiated the handshake. It quotes Chavez as telling Obama he hopes for better relations between their nations.” (Nick Sabloff, “Obama, Chavez Shake Hands At Summit,” The Huffington Post, 4/18/09)

• Chavez Gave The President A Book On American Imperialism That The President Called A “Nice Gesture.” “At one meeting, Chavez made a show of walking around the table as the cameras rolled and handing Obama a copy of ‘Open Veins of Latin America,’ a 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano chronicling U.S. and European imperialism in the region. … [Obama] said it ‘was a nice gesture to give me a book. I’m a reader.’” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Defends Greeting Hugo Chavez,” Los Angeles Times, 4/20/09)