"(insert your religion here) Is The Answer!"

There are at least two reasons the following article should raise eyebrows among Conservatives.

First, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that not everybody--in fact it seems damn few--can create American-style democracy just because they get to vote (du-uuh).

Second, catch-phrases work equally well when the guys you don't want to be running your life also use them. Maybe somebody should point this out to our Misleader-in-Chief, Bush.

Banned group earns foothold in Egypt vote: "A surprise showing in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections has given the Muslim Brotherhood its strongest political foothold ever heading into Sunday's vote, hinting at what democracy might look like in the Arab world's largest country.

Secularists and Christians were unsettled by the Brotherhood's initial showing, with the country's oldest Islamic fundamentalist group taking 34 seats, doubling its presence in parliament.

The victories have established the Brotherhood as the leader of the opposition and have proven what the government feared: that the banned group is popular among Egyptians despite, or because of, frequent crackdowns and the government's media campaign against it.

The unanswered question remains: Does Brotherhood success stem from its platform -- summed up in its slogan, 'Islam is the solution,' vague but appealing to some in conservative Egypt -- or to widespread discontent with President Hosni Mubarak's government."

[UPDATE 11-25-05] Poverty matters:

Wafdeya Mohammed, a poor widow with five children to feed, says she usually can't be bothered with political platforms and slogans.

Nevertheless, on Sunday the 32-year-old widow voted for the only group that has stood by her since her husband died seven years ago: The Muslim Brotherhood, which pays her a monthly stipend, keeps her children in school and provides medical care.

In the three-stage parliamentary election now under way, many Egyptians are voting for the Muslim Brotherhood because they agree with its slogan: ''Islam is the solution.''