US cornered by DEMOCRACY

Bush is going to have to remove ALL references to 'democracy' from his speeches and his press kits. In just over 6 months, democratic elections have installed leaders that not only lean against the Bush administration's policies, but pose a direct threat to American hegemony.

Ahmedinejad in Iran, Morales in Bolivia, Hamas in Palestine, and now Preval in Haiti is about to join the ranks of leaders who will, if they haven't already, act as major thorns in the side of Imperial America.

Preval, who was president from 1996 to 2001, appeared headed for an outright victory in the first election since Aristide was ousted two years ago in the face of an armed revolt and Bush administration pressure.

Preval, who found his strongest support in the same slums that formed Aristide's political base, has not said if he wants to bring the firebrand former Roman Catholic priest back from his exile in South Africa.

The United States sought to pre-empt such a move.

"He wasn't on the ballot. And he is in South Africa, and I would expect that he would stay there," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

"We think the Haitian government should be looking forward to their future, not to its past," he said.

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"Our interest is in seeing that they govern in a democratic manner. And a democracy is not just about election day; it is about how you govern," McCormack said.

Of course, that means 'do what we bid, or suffer the economic and military consequences (in that order).'

"The final arbiter of Haiti's domestic policy is the U.S. ambassador because he has the ability to block international funds," said the director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs think tank.

Maybe they can replace the term 'democracy' with 'hypocrisy.' That would make much more sense and be totally consistent with the Administration's foreign and domestic policies.