"LAUER: Katie pressed him [Dean] on that and we did some research. We went to the Center for Responsive Politics and found out that technically speaking, Howard Dean may be correct. But here’s what we found. That 66 percent of the money in this situation went to Republicans, but 34 percent of the money — not from Abramoff, but from his associates and clients — went to Democrats. So, can Democrats wash their hands of this?"

"The United States faces a ruthless enemy, and we need a commander in chief and a Congress who understand the nature of the threat and the gravity of the moment America finds itself in," Mr. Rove said. "President Bush and the Republican Party do. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many Democrats."

"Let me be as clear as I can be: President Bush believes if Al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interest to know who they're calling and why," Mr. Rove said, referring to the program in which the National Security Agency eavesdropped on conversations without getting a warrant from a judge. "Some important Democrats clearly disagree."

To get what we want in the Middle East, it’s neither necessary nor sufficient to promote democracy (that is, popular election of leaders). For democracy to work, it needs to be “reality-based,” not a popularity contest between fanatics making promises based in fantasy and theology. We need to promote secularism, transparency, rule of law, respect for minority rights, free market capitalism, “corrupt” western culture, consciousness of universal values beyond clan, ethnicity and religion, and the idea that only civility can produce the kind of decent life these people deserve. Yes, that takes time. But there’s no faster alternative that works – trying to rush it just puts the power of sovereign states in the hands of the people with the craziest platform.