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There was the question of violence. When unidentified gunmen opened fire during a mass opposition march on the Miraflores presidential palace-a throng comparable in both its size and class composition to those that have taken to the streets of Iran-the 19 deaths that resulted were all attributed to government security forces or Chavez's armed supporters.
It subsequently emerged that a number of the dead were among the crowd that had gathered to defend Chávez and that much of the fire had come from the Caracas metropolitan police force, loyal to the city's mayor, Alfredo Peña, a fierce opponent of the president who enjoyed US support.
In its coverage of the clash, the Times sought out Peña, who, unsurprisingly, blamed all of the carnage on Chávez.
The purpose of all of this became clear in the wake of the demonstration, when a section of the military, together with Venezuela's big business association and the US-sponsored bureaucracy of the right-wing union federation, joined in a coup that briefly overthrew Chávez.
In the immediate aftermath of the coup, the Times showed its hand in an editorial entitled "Hugo Chávez Departs."
"Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator," the Times crowed. "Mr. Chávez, a ruinous demagogue, stepped down after the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader..."
The newspaper insisted that Washington had no role in the overthrow, "denying him [Chávez] the role of nationalist martyr. Rightly, his removal was a purely Venezuelan affair."
Nothing could more clearly express the conception of "democracy" shared by the Times and the US ruling establishment. A regime created through the military overthrow of an elected government was "democratic" so long as it was more amenable to US interests. In Venezuela, which supplies 15 percent of US imported oil, these interests are clear.
As for the claim that the coup was "purely Venezuelan," this was a cover-up of a concerted and protracted US destabilization operation, in which the Times played an indispensable role.
The "democratic" coup, however, lasted just two days. Chávez was restored to power as a result of masses of urban poor taking to the streets against the new regime and sections of the military turning against it. The Times backpedaled slightly, admitting that it had greeted Chávez's overthrow with "applause," while regretting that it had "overlooked the undemocratic manner in which he was removed."
In Iran, the New York Times is following essentially the same script, albeit it on a grander scale.
The Nation has not provided any answer to the question posed by the World Socialist Web Site on Monday: "Who is Robert Dreyfuss?"
As we explained, Dreyfuss is a contributing editor of the magazine, which presents itself as the voice of "progressive" politics in America. He wrote a book-Hostage to Khomeini-in 1981, calling for the Reagan administration to organize the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran and denouncing President Jimmy Carter for having betrayed the Shah.
At the time, Dreyfuss was a member of the fascistic organization led by Lyndon LaRouche, serving as "Middle East intelligence director" for its magazine Executive Intelligence Review.
This is the man that the Nation relies upon as its chief commentator on "politics and national security" and who it sent to Iran to cover the election. He has echoed the line promoted by the New York Times, declaring himself in favor of a "color revolution" in Iran.
A comparison of what he wrote then and what he writes today only makes it all the more urgent that the Nation explain why such an individual is one of its editors.
