As I mentioned in Friday’s G-File, and my latest

syndicated , Arabs have a funny way of talking about democracy. They use the language of elections and representation even though they don’t have actual democracy, in part because even in these tyrannical states democracy is recognized as the only legitimate source of political authority. Here’s another good example. In a recent interview with the Washington Post Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas matter-of-factly claimed that he’d been elected:

I said that the armed intifada is useless and we should stop it. For that, the Palestinians elected me prime minister and for that Arafat nominated me to be prime minister. And I accepted, according to my ideas.

Did I miss the election night coverage or something?