Egypt - a Small Step Toward Democracy

Bush declared during the presidential election debates "freedom is on the march". And it really is. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine... Thanks to the US administration's 'unrealistic' foreign policies, the successful elections in these places has turned up the pressure on other Arab nations to give citizens similar opportunities. In Lebanon the streets are filled with protestors demanding elections untainted by the presence of Syrian troops. In Saudi Arabia local elections gave people their first taste for democracy. And now in Egypt...
Yahoo! News - Mubarak Orders Egypt Election Law Changes:

CAIRO, Egypt - In a surprise and dramatic reversal, President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) took a first significant step Saturday toward democratic reform in the world's most populous Arab country, ordering the constitution changed to allow presidential challengers on the ballot this fall.

Read the whole article - the opening is small and limited - candidates must be vetted by Parliament, much like the mullah's approve candidates in Iran. But its a significant step forward for a dictatorship.

I'd previously predicted that by the time Bush leaves office, two more Arab countries would have held more-or-less free elections and be on the path to democracy and liberty. I guessed two of Lebanon, Libya and/or Jordan. But the resilience of democracy is even more impressive than I'd hoped. Let's up that to four. Reforms in any one nation set a new standard for other Arab countries - and an endorsement of the Bush administration's position that liberty is for everyone, not just the West.