Look out y'all: Jimmy Carter's on a roll! The former president, who has never been shy about voicing his opinions on matters ranging from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to the criminal negligence of the George W. Bush administration at home and abroad, has resurfaced following a relatively quiet period since the election of Barack Obama with some choice words about American politics and Hugo Chavez.

First, Carter made the obvious point that racism fuels the disgusting attacks on President Barack Obama emanating from the far-right lunatic fringe, remarks that set off a firestorm of controversy among American conservatives who apparently believe that the United States exists in some halcyon alternate universe of post-racial politics.  Bless their hearts.  They need only look as far as Bob Herbert's most recent column in the New York Times, however, to have their fantasy bubbles burst by the cruel pinprick of reality. 

"Sherri Goforth, an aide to a Republican state senator in Tennessee sending out a mass e-mail of a cartoon showing dignified portraits of the first 43 presidents, and then representing the 44th - President Obama - as a spook, a cartoonish pair of white eyes against a black background.

"When a gorilla escaped from a zoo in Columbia, S.C., a longtime Republican activist, Rusty DePass, described it on his Facebook page as one of Michelle Obama's ancestors.

"Among the posters at last weekend's gathering of conservative protesters in Washington was one that said, "The zoo has an African lion and the White House has a lyin' African."

And these are only the examples the Times deemed fit to print!  Google the topic further, and you'll find much worse and far scarier.

Then, on Sunday, an interview with Carter appeared in Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper.  In it, the former president let loose about his feelings on Hugo Chavez and his take on America's role in the 2002 coup that nearly toppled the Bolivarian regime.  According to Carter, "I think there is no doubt that in 2002, the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved," which if true, explains some of the animosity Chavez continues to harbor against Washington.  He also argued that Chavez had initiated domestic reforms in Venezuela that proved of great benefit to "those who are traditionally excluded," and are now "able to get a larger share of the national wealth."

Critics who like to take swipes at Carter will surely be licking their chops at this sympathetic rendering of Venezuelan politics...until they get to the part where the former president takes Chavez on directly.  According to Carter, Chavez has increasingly steered the Venezuelan state along a crash course with authoritarianism.  Says Carter,

"He did the right thing over the past years, particularly when he was swamped with oil resources. Now, as these have dropped, I am increasingly concerned about Chávez's tendency to consolidate all the political power in his own office.

"I am personally disappointed at looking at him moving far away from what I consider it was a fair, honest opportunity, which was the result of legitimate elections, toward growing domination on his part which has led him have a more authoritarian government."

Moreover, Carter believes that Chavez has squandered not only his personal reputation but also chances for greater regional stability.  He argues that Obama entered the White House prepared to jettison Washington's policy of engaging with Chavez in all manner of macho man buffoonery, a policy that did little other than weaken American prestige in the region.  But Chavez, Carter contends, "has made this almost impossible," and needlessly damaged the prospect of increased security in international relations.     

The former president has a point.  As I've been consistently arguing both here and in other venues, at the same moment that the Venezuelan economy exhausts itself under the double whammy of internal contradictions associated with both struggling revolutionary regimes and oil-based economic arrangements, Chavez's presidency has increasingly been devoted to consolidating power and preserving it, not with managing the internal tensions threatening the socioeconomic health of his country. This has been strikingly evident in traditionally pro-Chavez media outlets, such as VenezuelaAnalysis.com, where stories once focused on social vitalization projects spearheaded by the Venezuelan government have given way to ones focused on Colombia, the freezing folks up in Maine, and criticisms of the most recent edition of Lonely Planet's guidebook on Venezuela.  Something is not right if this is the best they have to offer...

For his part, Chavez has so far not commented on Carter's remarks, though I suspect he'll have a few things to say this Sunday on his weekly marathon address to the nation, Alo, Presidente!  In the meantime, Chavez has started to rally the troops of his support base in preparation for the 2010 congressional elections fast approaching, elections in which opposition candidates are expected to participate (unlike in the last round) and where analysts see them doing well.  It will be curious to see whether Venezuela invites the Carter Center to observe and certify its next round of elections, as it has done in the past.  Stay tuned.