More thoughts on Pat Robertson’s public recommendation that Hugo Chavez be assassinated from Venezuelan bloggers:

Tomas Sancio in Venezuela, in an open note to Robertson, notes Chavez’s many incompetences and says he’s incapable of being the ruthless dictator who could use assassination. (I strongly differ with Sancio here – all the dictatorships I have seen up close or studied are characterized by venal incompetence, including Nazis.) But its broader point about Chavez’s sloppiness is correct and it’s a well-argued essay full of interesting information.

Aleksander Boyd takes a clear-eyed view of Robertson’s cheap inane statements and makes the point that this is serious business happening in Venezuela. The chances for a democratic transition are fading fast there, so making a media hoopla circus out of Robertson’s remarks is singularly unconstructive. This is a real dictatorship in formation. It’s a superb effort well worth reading.