Ding Dong, The Dictator Is Gone (Yikes, I Know)

Peace out, dawg:

"Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands. "The people ousted the president," chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo."

(via HuffPo)

From Politico:

"The power and pride that the peaceful masses exhibit in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities are Bin Laden’s worst nightmare. Peaceful masses, not the murder of innocents, overthrew a regime most thought was entrenched. If the demonstrators fail to fulfill their aspirations, it will be America’s nightmare."

Though, I would say that it would be a nightmare for America if the demonstrators do fulfill their aspirations, casting aspersions on the US government's seeming belief that the only way to accomplish things like this is for them to go bomb the shit out of the country in question, giving them control over the political situation in the country and region. Really, if the Egyptian people establish a free and just democracy, complete with a just economic system that provides for the lower class, it's not going to benefit any ideologically driven party (just, you know, the Egyptian people). This is going to be the hard part, though. We'll see how it goes, and whether the Egyptian people can continue to weather the storm of outside influence.

President Obama acknowledged this morning:

"There are very few moments in our lives when we have the privilege of witnessing history taking place. This is one of those times."

"The people of Egypt have spoken, the voices have been heard and Egypt will never be the same.

"By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt's transition. It is a beginning.

"I am sure there will be difficult days ahead and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that have defined these past few weeks"

Here's hoping.