So much for democracy - part 2

I want to recommend an op-ed piece by Eugene Robinson in today's Washington Post. It's entitled "President on Another Planet". The whole article is really worth reading but here's the part I particularly want you to see:

Here's another line from the president's news conference: "What's very interesting about the violence in Lebanon and the violence in Iraq and the violence in Gaza is this: These are all groups of terrorists who are trying to stop the advance of democracy."

Now, whatever you think about George Bush's intellect, he knows full well that the Hamas government in Gaza was democratically elected. He also knows full well that Hezbollah participates in the democratically elected government of Lebanon, or what's left of Lebanon. And so he has to know full well that U.S.-backed Israeli assaults on Gaza and Lebanon -- even if you believe they were justified -- had the impact of crippling, if not crushing, two nascent democracies of the kind the Bush administration wants to cultivate throughout the Middle East.

If we had a press that was worth anything, someone would have called him on that "advance of democracy" remark. But I don't think Bush wants to cultivate democracy throughout the Middle East at all. I think "democracy" as he used the word is a euphemism for puppet government compliant with what the White House wants.