VZCZCXRO7599
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #2340 3151500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101500Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0836
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 002340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ELECTORAL EUPHORIA IN EGYPT 
 
¶1. (U) Summary and comment:  Both publicly and privately, 
Egyptians are over the moon with the results of the U.S. 
presidential election.  From the front pages of daily 
newspapers to popular TV shows to smiling people in the 
street, the excitement is palpable.  The peaceful transfer of 
power was particularly appreciated here, and the sense that 
"America is back," is ubiquitous.  As many observers have 
already noted to us, the hard part will be managing 
expectations:  How will President-elect Obama and his new 
administration live up to the impossibly high expectations of 
Egyptians?  Nonetheless, the clear verdict of the nearly 
thousand Egyptians who came to our election party and 
celebrated throughout the night: the U.S. elections were the 
single most potent and effective promotion of democracy 
imaginable.  End summary and comment. 
 
¶2. (U) Everyone in Egypt, it seems, from hard-bitten 
businessmen to frustrated political activists, is thrilled 
with what happened on November 4th; first, by the spectacle 
of the American presidential election, and second, with the 
results.  Telephone calls from official GoE contacts have 
been many and universally positive: "Congratulations on your 
new president!" is the exuberant refrain.  As one prominent 
American-Egyptian businessman put it:  "I am not a Democrat, 
but I certainly feel like one today!"  Another Egyptian 
business contact, a senior banking executive, told us that 
over the past two years, he had become completely 
disillusioned with America and its role in the Middle East. 
With tears in his eyes, he confessed to our Econ Counselor, 
"My faith has been restored." President-elect Obama's return 
telephone call to President Mubarak was publicly noted and 
appreciated. 
 
¶3. (U) In the media, the news of President-elect Obama's 
victory has been broad and positive, and has dominated 
television news and talk show programs, as well as the front, 
inside and editorial pages of every major publication in 
Egypt.  During the Embassy-hosted election night party, two 
television stations broadcast the Ambassador's statements on 
the election live and many others broadcast interviews the 
next morning. 
 
¶4. (U) Aside from factual reporting of the Obama victory, 
there have been three overarching themes in local media 
coverage.  The first is that the election symbolized change 
and the end of racism in the U.S.  In the pro-government Al 
Ahram, Egypt's most circulated newspaper, the lead editorial 
read, "the wish of millions of Americans and many nations 
around the world came true!  America proved it is capable of 
change and evolution by crossing over barriers of racism and 
discrimination."  Writing in Egypt's leading independent 
newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, columnist Seliman Gouda wrote, 
"Several senior Egyptian figures were divided about who would 
win the U.S. elections.  Even in the U.S., some analysts 
doubted the victory of Obama.  Apparently, no one has 
realized the scope of the change in American society." 
 
¶5. (U) The second theme that has emerged, but only in the 
independent press, is that the election draws a sharp 
contrast to the electoral process in Egypt.  In Al Masry Al 
Youm, columnist Belal Fadl wrote, "A U.S. election ) and any 
election in the world ) exposes our deficiency, but these 
U.S. elections have been the harshest on our situation." 
Many observers lauded John McCain's grace in defeat and the 
peaceful transfer of power from President Bush to 
President-elect Obama.  For example, in the independent Al 
Dustour newspaper, columnist Ibrahim Mansour wrote, "they 
made a change after 8 years of Bush's catastrophic era.  Did 
our rulers learn anything from that event?  When the majority 
and other political forces in the US called for a change they 
were not accused of working against the nation." 
 
¶6. (U) The third theme has been the expression of doubt that 
an Obama administration will really bring change to American 
foreign policy in the Middle East.  Writing in Al Ahram, 
Egypt's leading columnist Salama Ahmed Salama wrote, "As for 
the Middle East, he (Obama) is not expected to step in early 
in his term and risk the anger of the Zionist lobby...The 
Middle East will remain as it is and any change that does not 
come from within is doomed to fail."  Columnist Mahmoud Nafie 
in the independent Nahdet Masr wrote, "the important, nave 
question we ask after each American Election is: what does 
the new President have for the Arabs?  Obama came, and Bush 
departed, but Arabs do not learn the lesson that from the 
White House, they have been bitten one time after another, 
and another." 
SCOBEY