Hugo Chavez Wants to Stick Around... Indefinitely

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Chavez Sticking Around?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — who has likened President Bush to the devil — wants to eliminate presidential term limits so that he can remain in power for another 20 years.

In his weekly radio and television program yesterday, Chavez said he needs more time in office to establish a socialist economic model in Venezuela and that if voters approve his constitutional reforms, he could continue governing until the year 2027.

Government opponents are crying foul, accusing Chavez of trying to become a dictator like his close friend Fidel Castro. Venezuela's National Assembly is expected to approve the proposals in two to three months, after which they'll be presented to voters.

President's Proof

For weeks, some pundits have been predicting that the U.S. is planning an attack on Iran — now Iran's president says he has "double proof" that is not going to happen.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he's concluded the U.S. won't strike his country based on his mathematical skills as an engineer.

Speaking before a group of academics on Sunday, Ahmadinejad touted himself as a master of calculation and tabulation, adding, "I draw up tables, I write out different hypotheses. I reject, I reason. They cannot make problems for Iran."

Fair on the Air?

As the 2008 presidential candidates pick up the pace in the race for the White House, everyone is jockeying for media attention. But is network television playing fair?

According to the watchdog group Media Research Center, not only are the morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC overwhelmingly focused on Democrats, they're actively promoting the agenda of the Democratic candidates.

The report found that Democrats get nearly twice as much coverage as Republicans, with New York Senator Hillary Clinton receiving the most — more than half of all campaign segments focused on Democrats. The study found that 69 percent of the questions to Democrats reflected a liberal premise and that more than 82 percent of the questions to Republicans came from the same perspective.

Undeclared liberal candidates like former Vice President Al Gore and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg received more coverage than many of the declared Republicans.

On the Offense

Security preparations are underway in Sydney, Australia for the 21-nation APEC summit this week, but the country's Communist Party — that's right, Australia's Communist Party — is up in arms over the security fence that will run through the capital's central business district.

Communist Party spokesman Peter Symon called the concrete and wire fence, "A wall of shame and undemocratic" and has dubbed the barrier "The Great Wall of Sydney." The Communist Party has called upon all Australians to protest outside the summit.

Prime Minister John Howard said those who plan to protest are hypocrites who hate economic growth and said the protesters — not foreign leaders — were the reason for the tight security.

—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.