One Election is Not the End

Pro-Islamist voters are showing their strength in Egypt and Tunisia. I don't assume this means the revolutions have failed.

The first step is getting rid of the autocrat. Mission mostly accomplished in those two places (the ruling elites still, survive, of course).

The second step is setting up elections. We are seeing that. Islamists can win these, as free elections must allow.

The next step is to make sure that rule of law constrains even Islamists. Unless either has a Gaza-style election where the Islamists simply use one vote to ratify their dictatorship, we have to see if the Islamists will attempt to govern and accept voter oversight in future elections.

It will take a while to see if Islamists will govern and even longer to see if they can lose an election and give up power to the next winner. Iraq needs to reach this stage, too.

Heck, we've yet to see that last stage in Turkey, which has covered more ground on this issue.

We're at the beginning of a long process. It is way too early to wring our hands and give up in despair. We must stay involved and continue to push these potential democracies toward the next stage.