 These will be the first real competitive elections for the presidency in Egypt in decades and certainly since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. There are four candidates in the lead. One is Amr Musa. The second is Dr. Abou Fletou who is a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood but was expelled from the party. Another front-runner is Mohamed Mercy who is the leader of the Freedom and Justice Party. He's not a very popular candidate but of course the Muslim Brotherhood has great potential to mobilize its constituencies so he could still very much factor in to the elections. And then there's a fourth candidate who is served in the prime minister position for a few days when Hosni Mubarak nominated him for that position during the uprisings as an attempt to quell the protests that didn't work and he is seen as associated with the former regime. These are the candidates and this is the political scene right now in Egypt's upcoming presidential elections. So the most critical issues at play right now in Egypt generally speaking but also in terms of presidential elections are issues of economics and social justice. The same issues that motivated people to take to the streets are the same issues that are of concern now because Egypt's economic situation has only worsened since the uprisings and the majority of Egyptians who are living under the poverty line in very serious conditions and that they want to see reversed. And so I think that Egypt's turmoil is largely driven by the political situation and the lack of a clear road map for transitioning the country to democracy. But meanwhile I think the people themselves are less steeped in the nuances of constitution making and whether or not a new president is an establishment figure or not and more just concerned with what is their daily fare. Having said that however, there is of course a very mobilized, newly emerging political class in Egypt that is very concerned with these nuances, the political dimensions of what's taking place in Egypt and they are concerned about the continued rule of the military and they would like to see a real change in the country's leadership. What happens if an Islamist candidate is elected to presidency is a question that I'm sure is on many people's minds but in fact the Islamists have already won a wide majority in the parliament. They are already a powerful political force in Egypt's political scene and they are part of the new reality in Egypt. If Abu Fattu or the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Mercy, wins the presidential elections that will solidify the Islamist rule even further but even if that happens we're not likely to see a major transformation in Egypt's foreign policy. We're not likely to see a major transformation in terms of its external relations because the country is largely still dependent on external assistance to address its huge deficit problems, its shrinking cash reserves, its need to serve the population and answer their dire economic demands. What may change of course is a growing conservatism within the social scene within the country. Whether the Obama administration should take a position on the Egyptian presidential elections is a question that can easily be answered with a resounding no. U.S. interference in Egyptian politics would likely only have further backlash for the U.S. which unfortunately has very little credibility and standing in the country right now and as Egyptians seek to reclaim their national sovereignty I think it would be behoove Obama administration not to take a position on the elections and I don't think that they are contemplating that. I think people are confident that whatever the outcome Egypt's political transition is still largely contested and no matter who wins the elections it's not clear who will be the power in the future so getting behind one candidate or the other doesn't lock in any particular result for the U.S. or for Egypt.