I recently posted a link to a right-wing article critical of Lula, the current favorite in the election runoff in Brazil scheduled for Oct. 27. I posted a caustic comment, with the article, that may have been misconstrued as support of the article's position. Nothing could be further from the truth. I received the following from R P Diehl, with a link to an article about Lula and democracy in Brazil.

As a Brazilian, all I can say is: the guy who wrote that stuff in the first place, C. Menges, sure is delirious.
Lula is a true democratic leader, and the world will soon be acknowledging that.
If having good relations with Castro is a crime, well, the US should arrest Jimmy Carter, who has just won the Nobel Prize exactly for things like that.
Mr Menge sure isnīt a fool. His involvement in the infamous Iran-Contras affair, is enough to tell about his beliefs. He deserves no credit at all.
Time will prove Lula to be the best thing ever happened to Brazil - and also for America - both South and North.
THIS is Democracy - not Mr Mengeīs distorted 50īs-like view, but the REAL stuff. Lula is the result of free elections in a free country. 180 million people said so last Sunday.
One canīt say that of Mr Bushīs electoral 'victory' 2 yrs ago.

Lula's a leader Brazilians can get excited about
BY Jesse Jackson

In the United States, the media often call him a ''leftist.'' But Lula is an experienced labor leader, accustomed to negotiating with business and finding common ground. His victory will elevate not a revolutionary, but a new democratic hero. Given his roots, and his long struggle for inclusion, fairness and democracy in Brazil, it is no stretch to put him in the same freedom fighter category as Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa. [read more]

My fear is that America's leaders will show their true feelings about democracy when they try to subvert Lula's election.