He was just 58 and he was beloved by many in his country.

Venezuela's oil makes the passing of Hugo Chavez an international story. It's a huge story because he was one of the handful of significant world leaders to challenge the U.S., putting him on the side of Cuba and Iran, traditional enemies to many traditionalists.

Of course, many of the people in those countries would love most things American, I suspect, but their leaderships like the animosity between us. Iran and their leaders hatred of all things Israel are the truly scary parts of the equation.

Most news outlets, it seemed, handled the Chavez story with regular respect, noting the illness, the treatments, the trade between us and them, and the speculation of what the death will mean first to relations and also to their internal stability.

The DrudgeReport's headline, "Hell's A-Burning," went a bit far even for them. Such glee in their snark. It matches the NY Post's headlines, Hugo to Hell Now.

Such snark minimizes his impact, yes, but ignore is to ignore key changes in the world, as the leader had a significant impact not just in his country, but in that region.

Now, a little smart humor works best, always, such as this:

George Takei

Well, no one lives forever. When Hugo, Hugo.