Michele Bachelet has made it official:

 

 Her political success has baffled many Chileans who thought a left-leaning single mother jailed during Pinochet's dictatorship stood little chance in this socially conservative country.

I would've written about this more along the way, but she held a pretty commanding lead from the get-go, and was clearly the superior candidate.  I think that Chile under Bachelet will be much more effective than Chile under (the loser) Pinera in working within a left-leaning South America.  If Bush plays his cards right, Bachelet could be his second best friend in South America and a useful ally in containing the spread of Chavez's influence in the region.*

 

* = I don't think he will play his cards right.