Chávez baited Bush at almost every stop along the way, but the US leader evaded the provocations, and indeed, probably bested Chávez in the sense that an unpopular US president managed to dominate the agenda and take the battle of ideas directly to Latin American audiences, with whom the Venezuelans and the Cubans are in contact every day. Bush was also able to partly change the tone of the US message in the hemisphere: from free trade and fighting terrorism, to combating poverty and strengthening democracy and human rights.