ANNALS OF DEMOCRATIZATION: "The Muslim Brotherhood says it has won at least 33 seats in the first round of national assembly elections in Egypt.... If confirmed officially, the results would more than double the seats held by the Islamic political group."

Like most people who are fortunate enough to live in one, I'm all for democracy. And I agree wholeheartedly with our friends on the right that liberalization should be a primary goal of US policy in the Middle East. But if we're really serious about that, aren't we all going to have to grow up at some point, and quit pretending that force of arms and a little simple-minded sloganeering are going to somehow make decent governance bloom in the desert?

Of course, that would necessarily involve adopting what one might call a reality-based approach to the whole issue.

So I guess that's pretty much out, huh?