Chavez, who has called U.S. President George W. Bush ``the devil'' and the Roman Catholic Church ``a tumor,'' unveiled his ``Message of Love'' in TV and in newspapers last week.

``This color symbolism, this `love' nonsense, is what they've rolled out to soften the image of the rock star Hugo Chavez,'' said Riordan Roett, director of Latin American studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. ``Red is revolutionary. It communicates fire and brimstone. Blue is much more soothing, almost establishment-like.''

The new tack underscores Chavez's concern that his lead over opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, once seen as insurmountable amid an oil boom, is dwindling, Roett said.

The latest survey by the Caracas polling firm Hinterlaces shows that support for Rosales, the former governor of oil-rich Zulia state, rose to 30 percent in September from 19 percent in August. Support for Chavez held at 48 percent, while the remaining 22 percent was split among 20 other candidates or undecided.

The nationwide poll of 1,000 people had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Oil Revenue

The central campaign issue is how best to use record oil revenue to alleviate poverty. Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of crude to the U.S., and state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA had revenue of $86 billion last year.

Rosales's campaign is challenging Chavez's record on spending, saying the 52-year-old president is too focused on making Venezuela a global power. Almost half of Venezuela's 26 million people live in poverty -- defined by the government as a household earning less than $300 a month.

Rosales, 53, promises to curb surging crime and distribute some oil money directly to the poor.

`Vote for Love'

On the campaign trail, Chavez used the word ``love'' 17 times in four minutes during an Oct. 13 stop in Mario Briceno Iragorry, a town tucked in the rain forest west of Caracas.

``This is an attempt to rescue a portion of Chavez's traditional voters who are tired of his aggressive speech,'' said Alfredo Keller, president of AKSA Partners, a Caracas-based public affairs consulting company.

Chavez's campaign released the ``Message of Love'' ad on TV and in newspapers on Oct. 11. In it, the president, wearing a light-blue dress shirt, professes love for the motherland, the people, wisdom, sports and the rivers and trees. It ends with a plea for support: ``I need your vote, your vote for love.''

Chavez Rhetoric

Ostilio Camacho, a 49-year-old Caracas sales clerk who backed Chavez during a 2004 recall vote, isn't buying the new message, saying he has wearied of Chavez's rhetoric and failure to reduce crime.

``I don't trust this happy face,'' Camacho said. ``Once he wins, he'll spread hate against the opposition more intensely.''

Chavez, a former army lieutenant colonel who led a failed coup attempt in 1992, has lashed out at opponents since his first presidential campaign in 1998. At the time, he said he would ``fry'' the heads of some political rivals when he took office. He also labeled Venezuela's rich ``rancid oligarchs.''

In addition to calling Bush ``the devil'' at the United Nations last month, Chavez has referred to him as a ``drunk,'' a ``coward'' and a ``donkey.'' On his weekly television show in March, Chavez challenged Bush to a duel in the Venezuelan plains.

Latin American leaders haven't been immune, either. Chavez called Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who defaulted on the nation's debt during an earlier term, a ``thief,'' and Mexican President Vicente Fox a ``puppy of the empire'' for siding with the U.S. on trade policies.

Red vs. Blue

To complement his fiery language, Chavez almost always wore a red button-down shirt with a red T-shirt underneath when campaigning -- if he wasn't dressed in a suit or military fatigues. Now, though the red shirt remains, his campaign-trail attire includes a blue T-shirt underneath.

Blue also is the color most often worn by Rosales, who portrays himself as being more tolerant and vows to end Chavez's belligerent discourse.

``Venezuelans are tired of a message of hatred and discrimination,'' Rosales told an Oct. 7 rally in Caracas.

Ricardo Sanguino, Chavez's campaign treasurer, said the new ads aren't a reaction to Rosales but rather an effort to reach out to voters.

Softball Strategy

Part of that strategy was to show Chavez on state-run television playing softball in Mara, a town in Zulia, Keller said.

In the Oct. 12 game, Chavez helped his team -- dressed in blue uniforms -- defeat the red-and-gray opposing team, 14-6. Chavez won the most-valuable-player trophy for his efforts at first base.

The next day, he painted and sang songs in Mario Briceno Iragorry and reiterated his pledge of love.

``There are people who think we do everything out of hate,'' Chavez said. ``I am incapable of feeling hate. I only feel love - - love for the Venezuelan people.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Caracas at at gparra@bloomberg.net Theresa Bradley in Caracas at tbradley7@bloomberg.net