As the people of Egypt rally to defeat a dictatorship, planning an even larger demonstration of 1 million tomorrow, Washington is walking a tightrope trying not to offend anyone, especially Hosni Mubrak and crew.  

Of course, the GOP wants the US to support the dictator, no surprise since this country, during the Bush reign, extraordinarily rendered individuals to Egypt, for torture.  And woodenheaded Joe Biden, contrary to all the facts, insists Mubarak is not a dictator (Biden's strong suit not being history).

And while Obama and company plan drastic budget freezes in the US, gazliions in bucks continue to flow to the Egyptian military.

In any event, there are those who think Americans are so much better off than Egyptians.  Well, pull up a comfortable chair and read some eye popping comparisons from R. J. Eskow at Our Future.

"A tourist who was interviewed last night from Cairo spoke for millions of his fellow Americans when he said he couldn't imagine living a country like Egypt. It is hard, isn't it?

"Imagine: A government run by and for the rich and powerful. Leaders who lecture others about "sacrifice" and deficits while cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy. A system so corrupt that rich executives can break the law without fear of being punished. Increasing poverty and hardship even as the stock market rises. And now, a nation caught between a broken political system and a populist movement that could be hijacked by religious extremists at any moment.

"No wonder they're upset! Why, we'd be marching in the streets too.

"Here's the reality: Income inequality is actually greater in the United States than it is in Egypt. Politicians here have close financial ties to big corporations, both personally and through their campaigns. Corporate lawbreakers often do go unpunished. Poverty and unemployment statistics for US minorities are surprisingly similar to Egypt's.

"Egypt's been plagued by the same contradictory "cut taxes and reduce the deficit" logic we're hearing in the US. And why not? It serves the same web of financial interests.

"Wall Street banks have a record of chronic criminality in the United States, yet continue to maintain a level of political power and influence that would look familiar to any Egyptian.

"How uneven is the distribution of wealth in our two countries? Studies from several organizations, including the United Nations and the CIA, applied the widely-accepted "GINI Coefficient" to both countries and found that the US has greater inequality of income than Egypt.

"19.6% of Egyptians and 14.5% of Americans live below the poverty line. 21% of Egyptians are considered "near poor," and 40% of Americans will fall below the poverty line at some point in their lives. One in six American children lives in poverty. So do one in four African Americans, which means the poverty rate for African Americans is greater than it is for Egyptians."

Robert Kuttner at Huffington Post offers an interesting and on target perspective on this situation.

"On Saturday, I crossed paths with a few hundred protesters marching from Cambridge to Boston to call for the resignation of Egyptian President Mubarak. By appearance, they were a mixture of Arab-Americans, locals, and people from assorted other backgrounds.

The loud, peaceful march was almost startling, because you hardly see street protests in America these days, even in liberal Massachusetts. The Boston Globe quoted one Egyptian-American woman saying that middle class anger in Egypt has swelled with unemployment and inflation.

"You can't live a fairly decent life without being rich," she said.

"In 2011, you might say the same about downwardly mobile America.

"But where are the protests in our country? Where is the leadership connecting the dots... between the financial meltdown, the record profits and bonuses on Wall Street, the continuing collapse of home equity, the joblessness, and the assault on public services in the name of budgetary prudence?

"It's great to see Americans demonstrating in solidarity with ordinary Egyptians. But the next time I cross paths with a robust protest march, I'd like to see citizens protesting the wreckage of American prosperity by Wall Street and the too feeble response by our government." 

Amen.