Leftist presidential candidate Rafael Correa backpedaled on Sunday from comments critical of U.S. President George W. Bush, according to The Associated Press. Correa, an ideological ally and friend of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, had said in September after Chavez called Bush «the devil» at the United Nations that the devil should be offended by the comparison. But on Sunday, Correa _ who trails billionaire banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa by 15 to 19 points in the polls ahead of Ecuador's Nov. 26 runoff _ told Canal 8 television that the remarks were «imprudent.» The softening of his rhetoric came just days after the candidate criticized comments by Chavez last week that characterized Noboa as a lackey of the United States. On Friday, Correa said he rejected «any expression that comes from abroad, that interferes with the Ecuadorean electoral process,» and called Chavez's comments «inopportune.»
