Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008

Asif Ali Zardari

Pakistan's unfavored son ended last year by burying his slain wife Benazir Bhutto. He ends 2008 as the President of a nuclear-armed nation threatened by Islamic militancy and on the verge of economic collapse. Allegations of corruption against Zardari led in part to Bhutto's removal from power in the 1990s. But when she returned from exile, ready to lead her nation back to democracy after nearly a decade of military rule, Zardari was beside her. He often repeats Bhutto's favorite line, that democracy is the best revenge. In Pakistan, though, it might take more than that.