The stagnation of freedom

The best newspaper in the world, The Economist, has a fascinating article based on a simple premise. If democracy and freedom are "marching," why hasn't there been any progress in recent years on the creation of new democracies?

The new 2009 edition [of Freedom House's report] paints a sombre picture of how the world fared during George Bush’s time in office. An initial five years of improvement were followed by a three-year decline—less in 2008 than previously, but still disappointing.

Another GWB FAIL. And in the place where he claims to be proudest. How special. Clinton managed to oversee a significant growth in democracy. Not so for former President Bush.