He’s done it! Hugo Chavez has finally joined the club! He’s a made man! He has status. A leader of a pariah state! It’s an elite club but considerably cooler than that Hated Country Club of Caracas that he’s trying to turn into a shantytown, and dammit, he finally made it.

Chavez got the U.S. to yank all weapons sales to him, amounting to $34 million in mostly cargo parts with the prestige of being recognized at long last as dangerous.

For Chavez, this is a big promotion. He’s not just a clown anymore. He’s dangerous. Now he thinks he will actually be taken seriously.

Chavez really wanted it. Of course, he wanted to do evil, too, but it’s the RECOGNITION of his evil that really pleases him. It’s like a medal.

But don’t think he didn’t work for it! He insulted Bush. He made sex-pervert talk about Condi. He kissed Cindy Sheehan. He messed around in the U.S. immigration mess. He meddled in other people’s elections, including the U.S.’s. He delivered aid to the Colombian FARC! He gave them safe haven, well beyond his customary rest and recreation. He got them bases and let them sell drugs, shipping them right through Mexico!

He also sucked up and sucked up to that humorless old foof, Fidel Castro, which never really got him the attention he wanted so he worked it until he really got in good with the Big League, the Mullahs of Iran. Bigtime! He defended Hamas, kissed Mugabe and sucked up to the Red Chinese. It was a lot of work! But it finally paid off.

Now on a world tour to tout the Iranian mullahs, Chavez first told the gullible in Europe that Iran has the wherewithal to blow up Israel, and then got a lcorrective memo from the mullahs, that no, well, actually, the mullahs are sweet little kittens who only want our love and would never dream of waging war. He performed both beautifully!

It all started with that little trip to Libya. Chavez met his old pal Muammar Ghaddafi, amid the usual hugs and kisses. But Ghaddafi, after years of being on the outs with the U.S., recently got released from associate Axis of Evil member status, and chose to enter the real world. That left an opening for an Axis of Evil associate member and Hugo was happy to take it.

Chavez says he doesn’t mind one way or another about getting his arms sales yanked. Obviously, he’s confident of his masculinity without them.

Let’s see.