And now things have taken a nasty turn. Reading the Guardian and the New York Times, my sense so far is that the violence isn't terrible: clashes and teargas, yes, and some people beat up, but no police or soldiers shooting at people or things like that. Night is beginning to fall there now, so maybe this will end and prove to have been a one-off. But someone is orchestrating the pro-Mubarak forces, and this could turn very ugly.
What does Washington do now? Does Obama just keep going out there making new statements every day? No. When I wrote last night that Obama's statement didn't quite go far enough and he shouldn't even have bothered, this is the kind of thing I had in the back of my mind. Don't say anything unless you really have something to say that can impact the situation. Now, I worry that the White House has set up a dynamic where people are going to be expecting public statements every day.
The important work now, it seems to me, has to be done behind the scenes. Try to ensure that this doesn't get any worse tonight, and that it does not happen again tomorrow. That's it. And do it quietly. Obama stood up there yesterday and said "no violence," and now there's violence. Nobody's going to blame him of course, but there's more risk now in big public statements than reward, in case things spin out of control.
