White House relieved that Egyptian military didn't rig the election

The election results dissipated mounting fears inside the administration that the country’s election commission would invalidate the recent presidential runoff and declare a former air force general, Ahmed Shafik, the next president. Officials were concerned that such a move would set off violent protests among more than 100,000 Egyptians who had gathered in Tahrir Square to demand that the military cede power to a civilian government as promised…

For President Obama, who telephoned both Mr. Morsi and General Shafik on Sunday, the crisis under way in Egypt has put him in an awkward position: champion of America’s longtime foe, and critic of America’s longtime ally.

In calling, as the White House also did on Friday, for the Egyptian military to quickly hand over power to a democratically elected civilian government, the Obama administration continued its defense of the Arab street — and by default, the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that has called for greater use of Islamic law and has allied itself with hard-liners.