George Washington was elected our first President in 1788.

A common misapprehension. In fact, the first presidential and congressional elections weren't held -- couldn't be held -- until a sufficient number of states had ratified the Constitution.

The election was held March 4, 1789, and Washington took office April 30.

One little nit. I picked it. I'm a bad person. ;-)

No!! There was no revolution in Poland, there was a Round Table and negotiations, which ended with elections on 4th june 1989r. Surprising victory for oppostion was the beginning of the transition (they took all the votes they could take by the agreement)

Yeah. Karzai gets sworn in tomorrow - and until we sent a lot of Talib and HiG scumbags to go collect their 72 white raisins or whatever, an election wouldn't have mattered. Stephen is right, it was the Afghans doing an awful lot of the fighting and suffering necessary to bring the place to the point you could even think about an election... Glad we could help.

Why pour so much heartfelt rhetoric into a "european" election when one of America's former colony's is crying for democracy and justice.

The Philippines is a complete mess. The judicial system is held to ransom by the government who are, quite simply, a bunch of criminals.

Why can't we just send Jimmy Carter over there? He will show them his Nobel prize and make things all better!!

It's important to draw the distiction between a War for Independence, which is what the US had, with a Revolution, which is what the French had. We've never had a revolution here, and in general, they're often not good things. We agree, though, that placing on elections the imprimatur of a regime that is illegitimate in the first place means nothing.

Oh, and by the way, I'm going to out nit-pick McGehee's comment above, by pointing out the fact that GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS *NOT* THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. (He was the first elected by the citizens through the electoral college system set up in the then-new Constitution. And, yes, you've been lied to in your liberally-biased public school education - it was putting my kids in private schools that taught this truth to *me*...)

According to George Grant's excellent book "The Patriot's Handbook" (every conservative should have a copy, it'll just tick off Democrats), Washington was actually the sixteenth President of the US. The first, by the way, was Peyton Randolph.

(Aren't you glad you read blog comments for their educational value - Now you *actually* know who the first president of the United States was...)

Revolutions are nearly always followed by a reign of terror.

If there's a more peaceful way to get the job done (and, of course, there is), Ukrainians should be encouraged to go for it.

Why pour so much heartfelt rhetoric into a "european" election when one of America's former colony's is crying for democracy and justice.

Maybe because they're a former possession, not a current possession?

The Philippines is a complete mess. The judicial system is held to ransom by the government who are, quite simply, a bunch of criminals.

So? It's their country. Unless the US has some sort of realpolitik national-interest reason to intervene, sorting it out is up to them.

I could quibble and note that the Nicaraguan election was not accompanied by a revolution... but since that election was in large part forced on the Sandys by their precarious military position vs. the Contras, I'll pass.

Sorry, I haven't been back here since I posted.

I bring up the P.I. as it is an example of how well the U.S.A attempts to bring democracy to one of it's own, and what happens afterwards!!! Who cares about the Ukraine, let putin ponder and manipulate....and then ultimately lose!

Rosignol, the (political) Philippines WANTS to be a part of the United States of America family, thats how screwed up they are here.......clutching at straws as they don't know any better and there is nothing else to clutch to. This is a desperate nation who HATE their solons.

North Americans probably think it is cute to have an asian nation that adores them but Filipinos are not asian and might actually get their own back on the "norteamericanos"!