Tymoshenko won't quit

While not much a surprise, Tymoshenko ended her silence and declared that Yanokovych wasn't fairly elected:

Kiev Post

I spoke today with my friend Misha, who is an ardent Party of Regions member and supporter of Yanokovych. He called Tymoshenko a "bitch" who stole the election last time (the Orange Revolution) and who tries again to steal it now. I guess no matter where you go, ideology trumps reality. I can find no independent observer who argues that the election was anything other than fair, and I can understand why a plurality of people would want a different government than the one the Orange adherents have run the past few years.

Sure, I would have preferred Tymoshenko. She's at least intelligent. But this kind of political posturing makes me dislike her, makes me believe she's not really a democrat. Just another round of cynical posturing for her party's advantage (or, I think more likely, disadvantage).

It is too bad that the Orange Revolution failed so miserably to handle the things that Ukrainians care about, but that doesn't give Tymoshenko license to argue that the electorate was shut of out of this democratic process. I wasn't happy when Bush got the nod over Kerry by the Supreme Court (not that I really wanted Kerry either, but at least he had a brain). But the foundation of a democracy--regardless of whether anyone likes the results--is that voting, conducted fairly, is the rule of law.