Hope Things Turn Out Well...

...I was getting worried that this day would never come:

Egyptians flock to the polls for historic vote

"But for every voter who expressed joy, there were just as many who felt trepidation. “The Islamists want everything,” said Samir Sedky, a Christian, after voting in his mixed Christian-Muslim working-class district of Imbaba in western Cairo. Mr. Sedky was referring to the already dominant position held by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Nour party in the country’s parliament elected at the start of the year. “If they also win the presidency,” he added, “they will take everything from us.” Not only Christians, who comprise 10 per cent of the population, are apprehensive. For the young liberals who got the revolution rolling last year, the almost certain prospect that the new president will be either an Islamist or a member of the old regime has come as a shock. Though 12 men are on the ballot, only four – two prominent Islamist candidates and two former ministers from the Mubarak regime – have a realistic chance of winning. While some liberals vowed to boycott the process, most gritted their teeth, as people do in democratic countries, and cast their votes for the one they saw as the least bad of the lot."

And may there be many more. The Middle East has a history of one election, one candidate, one time events. As always, I rushed over to see what Sandmonkey has to say. A bit disappointing, to say the least, but then again, democracy is a process, not a single event, and the milieu in which that process unfolds. And thanks, Obama, who, apparently does not have Sandmonkey as a fan. But Sandmonkey, being the kind of guy he is, manages to crack a few jokes and got me grinning, if nothing else. Here's a speech he gave in Washington, DC: