Is Obama Imitating Hugo Chavez?

An intersting confluence of stories leaves me wondering about the motives and goals of President Obama.

From Caracas, Venezuela:

The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health. The decision follows a wave of nationalizations and increased scrutiny of businesses in South America's top oil exporter.

From Washington, D.C. USA (or, I think Obama is the president of the USA):

The Obama administration says executive compensation must be better managed to prevent the sort of risk-taking that jeopardizes the economy.

Gene Sperling, who advises Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, said Thursday the administration does not want to impose caps on executive pay. But he also laid out for the House Financial Services Committee a list of guidelines calling on publicly-held companies to link compensation to long-term performance, not short-term gains.

Sperling said in prepared testimony that the administration believes compensation practices "must be better aligned with long-term value and prudent risk management at all firms, and not just for the financial services industry."

Call me a simpleton, if you will, but the government producing guidelines about how much a private company can pay its executives sounds like "increased scrutiny of business" to me.

"I can say with certainty that nobody in the Obama administration is proposing such a thing," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.

Combine this with the U.S. government's unprecedented ownership stake in auto manufacturers, insurance companies, and banks.

CitiBank on Wednesday said it was moving forward with a plan to convert a large chunk of its preferred shares into common equity. The long-awaited move is expected to give the United States government a 34 percent ownership stake in the troubled bank.

When the president of the United States is making moves that parallel the murderous dictatorial Hugo Chavez, this country is going in the wrong direction.