the loathsome thomas friedman argues that the problem with egypt isn't its totalitarianism, but the fact that its totalitarianism is outdated. they need an chinese/singapore hyper-capitalist squishy totalitarianism if they are to remain competitive in the global economy of the 21st century. something tells me that obama reads friedman's column every sunday, groaning in a standardized ecstasy, and redoubles his commitment to winning the future.