By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President Hugo Chavez said he hopes the next US president will be open to improving relations with Venezuela, but he warned that Republican contender John McCain seems to be a "man of war" like President George W. Bush.
Chavez, whose country is the United States' fourth-largest oil supplier, said Tuesday that McCain's remarks during the campaign don't bode well for easing tensions.
"McCain seems to be a man of war too. He said yesterday that Bush has been very tolerant with Chavez. He's gone to Iraq to offer more weapons and more dollars - and more war," Chavez said. "God save us - and beyond God, may the people of the United States save us from greater madness."
Chavez, who regularly calls Bush the devil, added: "Sometimes one says that worse than Bush is impossible, but we don't know."