Out of Touch, Out of Time

Watching President Hosni Mubarak addressing his nation Thursday night, explaining why he would not be drummed out of office by foreigners, I felt embarrassed for him and worried for Egypt. This man is staggeringly out of touch with what is happening inside his country. This is Rip Van Winkle meets Facebook. The fact that the several hundred thousand Egyptians in Tahrir Square reacted to Mubarak’s speech by waving their shoes — they surely would have thrown them at him if he had been in range — and shouting “go away, go away,” pretty much sums up the reaction. Mubarak, in one speech, shifted this Egyptian democracy drama from mildly hopeful, even thrilling, to dangerous.

Read at New York Times

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