Regarding the Dalrymple story, I have a hard time reconciling this:

The educated middle class is in Pakistan still largely excluded from the political process. As a result, in many of the more backward parts of Pakistan, the feudal landowner expects his people to vote for his chosen candidate. As writer Ahmed Rashid put it: ‘In some constituencies, if the feudals put up their dog as a candidate, that dog would get elected with 99 per cent of the vote.’

with this:

This is why in all recent elections, the Islamist parties have hugely increased their share of the vote, why they now already control both the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan and why it is they who are most likely to gain from the current crisis.

Also,the story doesn’t make it clear when Dalrymples’ “speaking”, and when his “minder” is. Or is that someone else he’s quoting that is referencing thier “minder”? Forgive me if all of this is clear to all but me, it’s just that the whole column had a certain cattyness to it. Was she James Madison? Well, no. She couldn’t help the way she was raised. She could’ve very easily forsaken her country for all of the hedonism mentioned by Mr. Dalrymple though.

I heard once that George Washington saw himself as being far removed from the hoi polloi, and wasn’t shy about expressing such. He obviously lived that way, his rugged nature notwithstanding, but I don’t think the poor were out there terrorizing the countryside to get what they wanted, or in protest of his ostentatiousness.(Excuse the reach, I just abhor even the slightest appearance of a suggestion that non-uniformed vigilantes who blow up non-military targets for purposes of “petitioning for redress”, are to be “understood” or sympathized with in any way.) I’ve actually heard Oliver Stone state that Palestinian murder bombers are justified, as that is the only mode left to them.

Benazir Bhutto may not have been Pakistans’ George Washington, but she was at least in the direction of civilization. All I can say is,every American should thank God for the fact that He never lifted His hand from that great man, lest we’d all be living in some dreary, British-American shire.