The day Leopoldo Lopez lost his presidential bid?

UPDATED Leopoldo Lopez has, in my very humble opinion, made a major mistake today.  His reply to yesterday TSJ sentence plays straight into Chavez hands.  Leopoldo simply states that the TSJ has validated his rights to run and he will do so, ignoring the second part that he may not be able to take office if he wins.



Leopoldo López 
Ayer el TSJ tambien ratifico mis derechos politicos. Asi que voy a presentarme como candidato a la Presidencia de la Republica

I think his timing is wrong and could cost him the primaries making his fight irrelevant in the end.

If he indeed wants to do that and if it is indeed the best political response to the TSJ disgrace, such an announcement should be made with representing members of La Unidad, as a joint decision to confront the TSJ.  I do know personally that Leopoldo will not wreck the Unidad and that he will step back if he does not win, so that is not my concern.  What should be concerning him is that today he comes across as a prima donna and that will cost him support for February.  This is not about him alone, something he has kept saying all the time and that for some reason (momentary bitterness I hope) he seems to have forgotten today.

UPDATE

Tuesday night Leopoldo was a guest at Alo Ciudadano where he could explain his position better.  That is, since the TSJ ruled that he could run for office, he was going to do so.  He stated, justifiably in a way, that this was the reason he went to the IACHR, to get the right to run for office and the TSJ implicitly acknowledged that the IACHR.  That he may take office is another question which was not in the docket at the IACHR.

Thus is strategy is call the the bluff of the TSJ and see if they will dare refuse to hand him the presidential sash were he to win the election.  In other words, he decided to confront the system.

I am in agreement basically with that position except that I would have felt much better had he expressed his strategy from the Unidad headquarters rather than on his own.  The image would have been strong because 1) the thrown gauntlet would have been from all opposition and 2) he would have stressed that he was doing his own challenge but respecting the eventual unity of the opposition at the end, around him or not.