His Majesty

"I urge my friend His Majesty to make sure that democracy continues to advance in Jordan." President Bush, press conference, Jan. 26, 2005

Um, Mr. President? If the guy in charge is known as "His Majesty," I wouldn't exactly call it a democracy. Monarchy, yes. Fiefdom, maybe. Democracy, um, not so much.

Of course, we all knew this, right? We knew that the empty rhetoric of "spreading liberty and freedom" on display in the Inauguration speech would bear no resemblance to the day-to-day propping-up-of-dictators in the White House. In fact, they had to rush surrogates out to the cable news nets to assure everyone that the speech did not represent a change in policy. Clearly, the ruling despots of Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Russia, among others, need not worry. It was just TALK. And asking "His Majesty" King Abdullah of Jordan to make sure democracy continues to advance is just another example of that empty talk.