Tells

Devoted poker players constantly look for their opponents' "tells," habitual behaviors that reveal the actual state of their hands. The observant player who accurately notes such tics can profit handsomely from them...if the opponent doesn't notice the pattern in his losses and consciously alter his behavior, of course.

Politicians and power-seekers have their own "tells." Most of those are expressions, not of the strength of their current postures but of their characters. As the late, great Jack Vance put it in his early masterpiece "The Moon Moth," "A man can mask his face, but he can't mask his personality."

The personality of the would-be dictator reveals itself in a number of ways. Courtesy of Common Sense And Wonder, this morning we have an example of one of the most common displays of intent:

Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, is seeking special power to rule by decree in order to wage “economic war”, as he battles a litany of problems with a loosening grip on power.

Currency market distortions have fuelled worsening shortages of food and basic goods from milk to toilet paper alongside high and rising inflation, posing a threat to the late Hugo Chávez’s socialist revolution. Price controls as well as endless fiddling with strict but ineffective exchange restrictions have generated a scarcity of foreign currency on which the import-dependent economy relies.

Mr Maduro, who served as Mr Chávez’s foreign minister and vice-president, has asked for “special powers” for 12 months from the country’s national assembly, to “fight against corruption and the economic war declared by the bourgeoisie against the people”. The president claims members of the “fascist” opposition, with support from the US, are “sabotaging” the economy in order to bring down the government.

In a recent tit-for-tat exchange, Washington expelled three Venezuelan diplomats in retaliation for Mr Maduro’s expulsion of three US diplomats days earlier.

“Venezuela’s economy is at a critical juncture. The productive apparatus is being acutely hit by a series of distortions such as speculation, hoarding, contraband, and the impact of the illegal currency exchange market,” Mr Maduro told legislators on Tuesday afternoon as he submitted the proposal, adopting a more conciliatory tone than in recent speeches.

Like his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro is determined to have absolute power over Venezuela and Venezuelans, in all things. He cannot afford to allow that the policies of the Chavez regime brought about the conditions from which his nation is suffering. That would cost him power over the Venezuelan economy. Arguably worse from his perspective, it would weaken the support of his allies, both inside and outside Venezuela. Therefore, he must represent the steadily worsening economic catastrophe as someone else's fault: "members of the 'fascist' opposition." Ironically, he intensifies his accusation by invoking that perennial boogeyman of socialist tyrants everywhere, the United States, currently under the thumb of a Chavez admirer and emulator.

There are few more reliable "tells" in politics than a habit of laying off your crimes onto others' shoulders.

Here in the U.S., our own Self-Exculpator-In-Chief is straining to lay off his sins onto Republicans' shoulders. He's told more than a few lies in the process, no doubt in the belief that his worshippers and sycophants in the Legacy Media will protect them from close examination. But some of his recent moves make it all too clear that he refuses to accept less than 100% of his will-to-power -- deliberate inflictions of suffering, or deprivation, or humiliation on ordinary, law-abiding Americans -- and they're happening right out in front of God and everybody.

Those who support the Obama Regime must fall into one of a very few camps:

• They stand to benefit directly from his policies;
• They're utter dupes incapable of rational appreciation of events;
• They're villains as deeply dyed as Obama himself, who hope to ride his coattails to power for themselves.

Though the aggregate might be shrinking, there will always be some persons in each of those categories. Indeed, the ObamaCare fiasco was aimed quite deliberately at the expansion of the first category. It might yet work; we won't know for a while longer. However, trends in public polling suggest that the second group might be much smaller than Obama and his lieutenants have counted on.

But Obama's "tells" make one thing certain: he will never, ever accept that any degree of authority over anything belongs in any hands but his. Neither the number of his opponents, nor the popularity of their stances, nor the eloquence of their arguments can sway him. His narcissism complements his dictatorial aspirations perfectly. The combination renders him incapable of self-criticism or compromise. He cannot be reasoned or bargained with; he can only be defeated.

John Boehner and the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives must stand strong. Boehner's earlier wimpy "We control one half of one third of the federal government" excuses for allowing the Regime to push him around must not be allowed a rerun.

It's been an interesting week. The week to come will be more interesting yet. Stay tuned.