Brownie Point: US House Reps. in Egypt

The ABSENCE of independent MONITORING will NOT UNDERMINE the VOTE – you would have thought it was the incumbent’s party officials who said that, but it was a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives, presently in Cairo.

Says Reuters: Egyptian and international rights groups have criticized the handling of the election process, including the ban on independent monitors entering polling stations, restrictions on who could run and a state press they said backed Mubarak.

Says U.S. Congressman Tom Davis: "We congratulated the president and all those involved on the historic first election for Egypt. I cannot tell you the magnitude of this, not just in Egypt, but around the globe in terms of moving towards democracy."

Mubarak had told him he had no objection to observers but also said he had no influence over a presidential election commission which sets guidelines for the election process.

The 10 Congressmen bought every word. Didn’t Davis & Co. do any reading before they arrived to Cairo? This is what Reuters and other wires have been stating for weeks:

Rights groups have criticized the make-up of the election commission, which they say lacks independence. It comprises five state-appointed judges and five public figures chosen by parliament, controlled by Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

Did the Congressmen take notice that no one is expecting a fair election? Obviously not:

"You have to respect the process at this time. It often happens in the United States, the politicians want to do one thing and the courts or the regulatory agencies do something else," Davis said.

Meanwhile, President Mubarak is planning to visit Israel in November. Not a word like “if he is elected for a fifth six-year term.” Of course not.