Obama mideast setback- defense of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt elections fails, Egypt says mind your own business.

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"On Sept. 1, Mr. Obama personally asked Mr. Mubarak to allow the monitors"...""The United States is the one that ought to listen to Egypt, and not the other way around""...(editorial in state-run newspaper)

Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest near polling place in Egypt, AP

11/29/10, "Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood 'faces heavy poll losses,'" BBC

"The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition bloc in the outgoing parliament, says it has not won any seats outright in the first round of a poll it claims has been hit by fraud.

• A few candidates will stand in a run-off, it said.

Protests took place overnight about the conduct of the poll, and there are reports of two dead in election-related violence.

• A run-off vote is to be held on 5 December.

"Only a few will stand in a run-off, but

• not a single Brotherhood candidate won in the first round,"
  

said Saad al-Katatni, the head of the Brotherhood's bloc of 88 seats in the outgoing parliament, equivalent to a fifth of the assembly.

• Results are not yet confirmed and counting is still going on, but it appears that the losers
  
• include the Brotherhood's leader in parliament, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo.

There was certainly strong evidence on election day that a number of their supporters were physically prevented from voting, our correspondent says.

• Already a spokesman for the Brotherhood has said the government has destroyed the multi-party system, freedom of speech and the fairness of elections.

He warned that as a result, Egyptian people had lost hope in achieving change

• by peaceful means.

President Hosni Mubarak's ruling NDP party had been expected to win the vote decisively.

• The Muslim Brotherhood is barred from taking part in Egyptian elections, so its candidates stand as independents.

The liberal New Wafd party also has no winners, with a handful of candidates going into run-offs, a spokesman said.

• In earlier protests, followers of the Muslim Brotherhood gathered outside counting stations in Alexandria.

Several hundred others marched on a counting station in Cairo."

Reference, 11/25/10, "Mubarek snubs US call for election monitors, Obama sustains Mideast setback," Washington Times, by Eli Lake

• Mr. Lake's article notes George Bush encouraged more open elections in Egypt in 2005. To the extent that happened, the results were that "the Islamic party won more seats in 2005 than ever before." Egypt didn't see that as a plus. (top of p. 2)
• Both George Bush and Obama put themselves out for the Muslim Brotherhood.
  

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