Regarding my post from yesterday, based upon Joe Biden's conversation with Jim Lehrer, I would guess the administration has decided that it is better to support Mubarak than hope for a positive change in Egypt:
My takeaway: The U.S. is going to at least pretend that Mubarak is a democratically elected leader; that it would oppose his violent overthrow; and while it does think people have a right to protest, they should just hope the protests induce the government to change. Given Biden's history of speaking out of turn, or misspeaking, this may not be the actual position of the U.S. government. If it is, however, this would be a good example of the common accusation that the U.S. (as well as other Western governments) talks the liberal talk, but won't walk the liberal walk when it conflicts with its power-based interests.
