State Department condemnation came quick when the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court voided Egypt's parliamentary elections.  "There can be no going back on the democratic transition called for by the Egyptian people,'" Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. "We want to see the Egyptians have what they fought for, which is a free, fair, democratic, transparent system of government," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland added.

Ironically, the Court's actions may provide a rare second chance for a free, fair, and democratic system. While journalists depict the Court's action as a "judicial coup," it has precedent. In 1987 and 1990, the same court used the same technicalities to dissolve Egypt's parliament. Then its goal was to reinforce Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship. Last week's decree benefited the military from which the ailing Mubarak rose but, with Mubarak gone, it may preserve an opportunity for democracy which had already withered on the altar of Islamist populism.