Bad News

Looking back, an ideologically extreme candidate was elected to the presidency. He made promises of moderation. He made claims that he could solve economic problems, government incompetence, and the plight of the poor. He condemned government intrusions of privacy. He suggested that he would be far more transparent that his predecessor and would govern all the people with a moderate hand. He was endorsed by many world leaders.

But as many of us warned, he adopted an extreme ideology. He demonized his political opponents and was intolerant of their views. He forced through legislation that many citizens violently opposed. His government was rife with scandal. His advisors stonewalled any attempt at transparency. His management of the economy was disastrous with heavy indebtedness, significant unemployment and a malaise that would not go away. His foreign policy rejected allies and embraced enemies. His rule was a study in incompetence peppered with arrogance.

Today, Mohammed Morsi, the President of Egypt was removed from office in a military coup. To their credit, it took the Egyptian people only 13 months to recognize their error, and in a strange variation on the Arab spring, they demanded change and got it.

Egypt is in very serious trouble, even post-Morsi. There is absolutely no guarantee that things in Egypt will improve, and they just might get worse (although that’s hard to envision). But this Muslim Brotherhood ideologue was bad, bad news … it’s good that he’s gone.

By the way, if you re-read the first two paragraphs of this post, you might see a few similarities in a more local context. Looks like “bad news” leaders are more common than one might think.