Democracy does not threaten Islam

Bush, in his speech Sunday: “Democracy does not threaten Islam or any religion. Democracy is the only system of government that guarantees their protection.”

Also Sunday, Kuwait held its legislative elections, in which pretty much every winner is a hardliner Islamist of either the Sunni or Shiite persuasion (and, in the second Kuwaiti election in which women were permitted to vote, none were elected to office).

Also Sunday, in Afghanistan, which Bush in his speech said is “building a free society,” journalist Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh appealed his death sentence for blasphemy. Although, to be fair, Bush said that religion is protected in democracy, not that blasphemy is protected. So that’s okay, then.