Protests continued in Cairo a second day, with thousands of Egyptians filling the streets in reaction to Mohamed Morsi’s assertion of “temporary” dictatorial powers. Morsi attempted to explain that the decrees that removed legislative and judicial oversight over his actions were aimed at the “weevils” of the Mubarak regime, an odd declaration as Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had already succeeded in driving them out of at least the legislature. CBS News reports that Egyptians feel “betrayed” as Morsi’s reforms have turned into something that looks a lot like another Nasser/Sadat/Mubarak regime in the making:

CBS’ analyst questions the timing:

“What position has the US been put in?” “The same position as it has for decades in the Midde East.” Yes, which is just another way of saying, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” with the exception that this boss is a lot less friendly to US actions while still leaving the US on the hook for supporting him.  Smart power.