Raging against the dying light

So much for the fairytale ending. In his remarks on Egypt yesterday, President Obama warned that there would be "difficult days ahead." The first of those days arrived today. We shouldn't be surprised. President Mubarak telegraphed his intent Tuesday when he said events had imposed a "choice between chaos and stability.” He pledged to spend his dying days in office investigating "those who caused the security disarray." On cue, camel-riding thugs – wielding bats and Molotov cocktails – converged in Tahrir Square to violently break up the protests. By most accounts, it was as choreographed as a Bedouin dance. Sadly, it's working – for now. The sun is still setting on Mubarak. But he is clearly raging "against the dying of the light," as poet Dylan Thomas might put it. As a result, the Pharaoh of Cairo is unlikely to go "gentle into that good night."