Nothing better to educate the American people about the true nature of the Democrats who love totalitarian governments. And what that bodes for Americans.
Robert Mugabe
Despite labouring under one of the most unwieldy political labels in history - he is a self-avowed Marxist-Leninist-Maoist - Mugabe, Zimbabwean leader since 1980, shows few outward signs of cracking under the weight of international outrage over violent state-backed farm seizures. Western condemnation has hardly been consistent: when he took over from Rhodesian leader Ian Smith upon independence in 1980 he was hailed by many as a generous leader who would show an even hand with blacks and whites. But the Matabeleland massacres - when his forces murdered countless backers of his nationalist opponent Joshua Nkomo - initiated a slow souring of international opinion; even the ever-patient Nelson Mandela is reported to have been moved to irritation in talks with Mugabe. Smith and others mutter darkly of Mugabe's apparent increasing mental instability; the president's recent outburst against Tony Blair and his government of "gay gangsters" was hardly the best-judged of responses.
Mahathir Mohamed
Any high points Mahathir Mohamed may have experienced in his 43-year career as Malaysia's prime minister have been overshadowed in recent years by the increasingly surreal events surrounding the government-initiated campaign against his former deputy, the reformer Anwar Ibrahim, which has seen Anwar repeatedly tried and subsequently jailed on charges of sodomy. But the sometimes farcical trials have had one crucial result for Mahatir: they have distracted attention from the country's economic crises.
Fidel Castro From the earliest days of the Cuban revolution, when he would regale long-suffering crowds with nine-hour speeches, Havana's Maximum Chief has shown a marked inability to realise when he's outstaying his welcome. Reducing the CIA to a laughing-stock with his defeat of Operation Mongoose - featuring the legendary exploding cigar plan - Castro has staved off internal opposition too with a combination of strongarm government, popular affection and a knack for milking the US trade embargo for maximum political gain. As the 74-year-old prepares to welcome his 10th US president, only the certainty of human mortality seems capable of stopping him. And even that is beginning to look doubtful.
Muammar Gadafy
More than three decades after the coup in which he generously nominated himself leader of Libya's Revolutionary Command Council, the world's most glamorous pariah shows no signs of succumbing to international pressure that has encompassed economic sanctions, counter-intelligence operations and bombing raids. Gadafy seized power in 1969 and has ever since vigorously pursued his passion for Beethoven, blondes and state-sponsored terrorism. The latter has included support for "liberation movements" from Northern Ireland to Palestine; alleged involvement in the Lockerbie bombing and the killing of a policewoman outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984. A flamboyant streak has led him to arrive at summits accompanied by troupes of gun-toting beauties. Now the Lockerbie suspects have been handed over, sanctions have been eased; the 59-year-old's promise to "liquidate" the "running-dogs" of capitalism is looking shaky, but the running-dogs are slavering less these days too.