Democratic vocation, redux

At a press conference, Hillary Clinton called “for the full restoration of democratic order in Honduras,” saying that events there had “evolved into a coup.” When asked explicitly whether the US was demanding the return of the elected president, she said no, going only so far as to say that “we think that the arrest and expulsion of a president is certainly cause for concern that has to be addressed.” One could be forgiven for thinking that she doesn’t want to look like supporting a coup, but wouldn’t mind taking advantage of the situation to get rid of Zelaya through some sort of negotiated settlement with the people who seized power.

Later in the day, though, Obama belatedly made the statement he should have made immediately: “We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president there.” He has not, however, according to press spokesmodel Robert Gibbs, picked up a phone to offer that support to the democratically elected president, which doesn’t suggest that he plans to offer much in the way of practical help.