La plus ca change....

The winning parties in last week's Pakistani elections are beginning to push Pervez Musharraf around.

Pick your governance cliche: The more things change... Meet the new boss, same as the old boss... L'etat, c'est moi or some other idiote...

Actually, Musharraf brought this on himself. He launched a bloodless coup against the bungling and corrupt Nawaz Sharif in 1999, who had replaced the bungling and corrupt Bhutto dynasty. After promising for 8+ years to make Pakistan safe for democracy while clinging stubbornly to power, he now watches as voters bring back Sharif and the Bhutto dynasty. That's not much of a legacy, and it disappoints me, who once believed he could accomplish great things.

You can't imagine that the power has been worth the humiliation he's earned (especially in a society that it is, like East Asia, very shame/honor-based).