President Obama on Egypt: “All Governments Must Maintain Power through Consent, Not Coercion”

A strong statement by President Obama, the full transcript is here. It will be fascinating to watch this situation in coming days, as protests continue, as President Mubarak’s cabinet resigns, and as the country’s military decides what it (not really “it” since I’m sure there are factions within the Egyptian military) will do. Personally, I’m rooting for the protestors. I also agree with this morning’s New York Times editorial that the “status quo is unsustainable and the result, perhaps inevitable, has been an explosion of protests and rioting in the streets.” I also agree with the Washington Post that the Obama administration “should be telling the Egyptian army, with no qualification, that the violent suppression of the uprising will rupture its relationship with the United States.”