In journalism, timing is everything

By Lexington

IN THIS joyful moment for Egypt, I can't resist drawing attention this deliciously wrong piece from this morning's New York Daily News. Some choice bits:

Mubarak took direct swings at Obama, saying that he needed and would follow no outside dictation. American intelligence leaders openly announced that Mubarak would be stepping down. Obama gave what might be called a victory speech for the success of reform in bringing down a dictatorship.

This is the most obvious and immediate humiliation for a U.S. President in a very long time. Obama must have been steaming while watching the speech. What will he do now, try to overthrow Mubarak or savage the alliance? The Obama administration is spinning this as Mubarak's resignation in practice. But Egyptians are seeing it as Mubarak still being president and the regime still being in power, setting the terms for any changes to be made.

What will people in the region conclude? Other moderate Arab regimes and Israel are going to contrast Mubarak's toughness with Obama's panic in the early days of the crisis. America's enemies are going to be angry and disappointed. Yes, they will now try to stoke violence and revolution in Egypt. But do they have any prospect for success? Doubtful.