Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are.

For the entire first term, Obama and his people blamed Bush for everything - which is another way of saying they felt Bush and the Bush years were the inescapable reference point for everything they were themselves doing.

The way for the Palestinians to get a state is to go ahead and build it.

Reformist kings can save their dynasties now by helping their countries move smoothly into democracy, or they will end their years in exile like the Russian aristocrats of a century earlier.

During most of the Bush administration, human rights and democracy in Egypt were on the front burner.

The Obama administration rarely demonstrated the ability to shift gears and change policy in its first year. Even in the face of historic events such as the continuing demonstrations against Iran's regime, it stuck devotedly to prior plans.

As the Palestinian leadership never seems to pay any penalty for its words, America's seriousness about the peace process is in doubt.