BY golly what a repudiation of Dubya and his mindlessly foolish policies that have set huge swathes of the world on fire. Who saw him congratulate president-elect Obama on the day the election results were announced?

Who noticed his lips drawn into a thin line and the tic on his lower left lip that appears whenever he doesn`t like what he is saying but say it he must to sound presidential? Why did the man even try to sound sincere?

I stayed up all night, that night, cheering for this bright, young, fresh face. I wept tears of joy when he appeared at Grant Park in Chicago along with his family that night to accept the presidency. I wept tears of relief at seeing the back of Ma `Barracuda` and the crushing of her dreams of becoming the 45th President of the United States of America — a woman who did not know if Africa was a continent or a country because, as a comedian put it, you can`t see Africa from Alaska.

I wept too when I saw the loser John McCain so gracefully accept defeat, in his case the final defeat, for apart from anything else his age will preclude him from trying again in 2012. Most of all I wept because I can see in our own country a political accommodation not ever seen before, and prayed to God that it matures with time despite moves to derail the system as I write this.

The Commando is reportedly up to his tricks again according to a national daily. He is reported to have told his rufaqaa to ready themselves for a second stint of the PML-Q, or as the Commando put it the “like-minded” (a term that brings to mind deviation of a not very salubrious kind), in power.

To Asif Ali Zardari and our elected leaders I can only say once again that Musharraf be tried for his acts of omission and commission immediately if not sooner if the scourge of army takeovers is to be buried for good and all. Otherwise they will live to regret it.

And another thing how is it within National Security Adviser Maj Gen (Retd) Mahmud Durrani`s province to give the Pakistan army a `clean chit` so to say when he told Newsweek “(Ashfaq Kayani) is making every effort [to work under the political leadership] because he believes in democracy ... that the military should be a subordinate department.`

And then sound a dire warning to the elected government “But he said the political leadership should only give `broad guidance, directives and objectives`, adding that when it `tries to run battles and campaigns`, it is `a dangerous game`. `So far things are going all right,` Durrani said.” “Dangerous game”, eh? Will the president or the prime minister put the man on the mat?

Far better for him to go on `charming` the Indians a little better than the last time he tried. For, just three days after he charmed them, they took the American chief of army staff to their side of Siachen! An unkind cut by both the Indians and the Americans and another resounding failure of our FO and security establishment. The American could have visited both sides of the battlefield, dash it all.

A clarification I was much taken aback by an email from an old friend suggesting that the wedding held at the presidency of one of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani`s sons — he has several, may they prosper — was not held at all, and that the photographs on the internet were spurious.

I can be acerbic and hard in my manner; I can be blunt and politically incorrect. But I have never in my life either tried to slip something that is false past my editors; nor have I levelled baseless allegations against anyone. I remembered perfectly well, a story in the Islamabad press of Oct 9 stating that in “a pleasant and incredible (!) gesture”, President Zardari had offered to host Gilani`s son`s wedding at the presidency. The wedding was duly held two days later, on Sunday Oct 11.

So I went about trying to dig out old clippings which took me hours because we now live in two places, Lahore and Wah, due to an illness in the family. I was much relieved to find it lest someone charge me with wrongly accusing people from a party just because I did not agree with its policies. Someone called Lala Hassan owes the newspaper and myself an apology for writing emails to hundreds of people that the story was wrong i.e. dishonest.

In any case, why was anyone offended at what I said? The holding of the wedding at the presidency — provided it was paid for privately of course — is not at issue, the prominent display of the national and presidential standards is. They had no business being there, because this was a private function.

Which reminds me. Could the powers that be please be seen on simpler chairs and sofas with simpler backdrops in these times of want and hunger and thirst and war rather than on the gilded and shimmery gold and silver, winged and kitschy furniture which adorns our great halls of state? And the embroidered silks with tassels and baubles stuck on them that serve as their window adornments?

Just yesterday the president was seen talking to a group of people from Swat, a once beautifully serene and peaceful area of the country now ravaged by, yes, all out war. The furnishings were embarrassingly bright reds and gold, a huge bright crimson carpet covering the floor.

Anyone seen an Indian leader meeting visitors? Simplicity is not the word I call it MES (Military Engineering Services — whose furniture warehouses we used to visit on postings to a new station to hire our requirements Rs0.50 a month for a dining chair) furniture straight, plain wooden; no tamasha. More than anything, Sardar Manmohan Singh looks statelier on his plain chair than our leaders do on their plush and satin.

PS A correspondent from the US tells me the `Barracuda` can skin a baby seal inside of a minute. And she is the great white hope of the GOP? I ask you!
kshafi1@yahoo.co.uk