That Pesky General

Michel Aoun will be running on his own after all. Good riddance.


Red state, Blue State... Orange state

Watching Gen. Michel Aoun's performance in his press conference this morning makes you realize how much Lebanese politics have changed in the last ten years.
Except for a few political dinosaurs like Omar Karami, Lebanese politicians have long stopped shouting at journalists, attacking newspapers, and claiming that everyone is conspiring against them.

Only a terribly skewed self-image can make you think that you can actually give morality lessons to journalists in public, attack popular national independence symbols with a holier-than-thou logic, compare yourself to great historical figures, and still get away with it in the polls. I found myself asking all the time: "Is he actually saying this?”

I can't see how shooting at everyone is a good tactic. Commentators love an enemy, and if someone like Rajeh el Khoury puts Michel Aoun in his bad books, he can seriously mess him up.
Hariri had a lot of enemies, but he was careful to cultivate a good relationship with journalists from all the political spectrum, from Marcel Ghanem to Talal Salman.

I won't elaborate on why Michel Aoun is disappointing more and more people. I saw it coming long ago, and Raja did a great job with the details, but what i know is this: The coming elections will be the needle to Michel Aoun's bubble.

Until then, enjoy the spectacle, he's proving to be quite the entertainer.