Rice in a Wet & Soggy Paddy

If this is the true representative thinking of an academic and a chief diplomat, we are really in shtupp.

Hamas Victory Reflects Palestinians' Desire for Change, Rice Says
Secretary of state says Palestinian people's aspiration for peace unchanged

by Phillip Kurata
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections was "somewhat unexpected" but does not change the deep aspiration for peace of the Palestinian people.

In an interview with the Reuters news agency January 26, Rice said the Hamas victory was an expression of the Palestinian people's desire for change from the "corruption and non-accountability and lack of transparency" that characterized the rule of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

and here is an example of more "thinking":-

Bush, Rice Say Palestinian Elections Show "Power of Democracy"
Say HAMAS platform and armed wing prevent its being a peace partner

By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File White House Correspondent

Washington -- President Bush said the results of the January 25 Palestinian parliamentary elections present a "wake-up call" to the incumbent Fatah party leadership, reflecting voter dissatisfaction and a desire for change. However, he said HAMAS, which appears set to assume a clear majority in the 132-seat legislature, cannot be a "partner in peace" if its platform calls for the destruction of Israel.

The parliamentary elections mark the first time HAMAS has participated in national elections. Previously, the party has only fielded candidates in municipal elections. If preliminary indications are confirmed, HAMAS is set to end Fatah’s domination of the legislature, which it has enjoyed since the previous parliamentary elections in 1996.

Speaking January 26 at a White House press conference, President Bush noted the high voter turnout and said the results "remind me about the power of democracy."

"Obviously, people, were not happy with the status quo. The people are demanding honest government. The people want services. They want to be able to raise their children in an environment in which they can get a decent education, and they can find health care. And so the elections should open the eyes of the old guard there in the Palestinian territories," he said.

The president said he welcomes the competition of ideas as signs of a healthy democratic system, but he expressed doubts that HAMAS can be a "partner in peace" if it adheres to its political platform calling for the destruction of Israel and maintains its armed wing.

When faced with a threat, democracies back away and away until the moment when their response proves to be, at first, inadequate and usually, the victory is achieved at the expense of the most innocent victims of the threat.