Oil, oil, oil . . .

As gas prices rocket and the complaints of the American citizenry become louder and louder, a new blow to the oil market is the last thing we need. Unfortunately, Hugo Chavez doesn't have the United States public's best interest at heart, and neither does his political following. So when he announced Friday that a ''yes'' vote on his referendum would push through constitutional changes with a broadside attack against adversaries—including a threat to cut off oil exports to the United States—the American public shared a collective groan.

I cannot deny that I respect Chavez. He's one world leader who is fearless in calling the U.S. out on its political faults—even if some of them can be seen as a little bit ''crazy.'' This move would, indeed, be crushing to his perceived enemy in American politics. Oil prices are still on the rise, and if 15% of the oil we had come to depend on was suddenly eliminated, the American public would be none-too-pleased.

But if the United States is Venezuela's biggest oil consumer, who would this referendum really hurt? Stopping shipments to the U.S. would appear to do some severe damage to Chavez's own country, I think. Even if the referendum does go through and does away with term limits, Chavez's reign wouldn't last long if their economy plummeted thanks to him.