My apologies, Mr. President

On Thursday, January 30, the handwriting on the wall was clear:  There would be mass protests until Mubarek was out.  Yet, Vice President Biden went on PBS' The Newshour that night to say Mubarek should stay in power... and refused to allow Mubarek to be called a dictator.  

On the Sunday talk shows Secretary of State Clinton was a bit more forceful but said the US would not support his being ousted.  The Administration first signaled they would cut aid if he stayed and then walked that back, reinforcing that aid would continue even if Mubarek stayed.

So when I heard Mubarek's outrageous speech last night I thought he might well have had received a green light from Washington to give that speech.

Instead, it's clear he was flipping the bird at his people and the US... and given the comments by the President immediately after the White House finally knows the bastard they are dealing with...