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I'm not trying to give anyone the impression that I expect Rosales to win a fair election at the ballot box. I fully expect Chavez to use his control over the electoral rolls, his ability to control patronage and entitlements, his widely-dispersed goon squads, his control over the media, and more to stay in power.

But the selection of a new President is not what's at stake in this election. What is at stake -- and God help me, I'm going to use a phrase now popular among the Mexican Left -- is Chavez's "legitimacy." While I am in no doubt that Chavez can rig the election result, I am becoming increasingly convinced that he will not be able to do so in the dark. And once the mask is off, everything changes throughout Latin America. Everything!

This election campaign is about daylight as a precursor to eventual victory, not about the quick result we would hope for in a truly democratic process. We must all remind ourselves that our dedication to the defeat of radical leftism is one we hold until our deaths, and take heart that a major step on the path towards the eventual victory of democracy is now underway.

These are exciting times.