This is a brief diary - just a note. The Bush administration claims that democratic elections will solve the problems of the world. The Hamas victory in Palestinian elections suggests otherwise. As the Republican party well knows from its own practices, people can be whipped into a frenzy that pushes them to vote emotionally, against their own best interests. Free and fair elections are a good thing, but they are not a cure-all. People must feel that they and their nations are being treated fairly by the world before we can achieve peace and stability. THAT should be a main foreign policy goal of any administration.