President Hosni Mubarak just appeared on television and didn’t step down, as many had thought he would. Instead, he insisted that he would stay in office through the September elections. He offered cosmetic changes and promises of reform down the road. For example, he said that he would lift the state of emergency…down the road…sometime when the time is right. He seems to have delegated some powers to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, while remaining in office himself.

This is of course manifestly unacceptable to the Egyptian people. Mubarak’s speech was a striking reminder of the capacity of dictators to fool themselves and see themselves as indispensable. If he thinks that his softer tone will win any support, he’s delusional. As he was speaking, the crowd in Tahrir was shouting “Irhal!” or “Go!” And the Egyptian state media — from television to Al Ahram, the dominant newspaper — have been turning against Mubarak, so he’s losing control even of his own state apparatus. An Arab friend of mine who has met Mubarak many, many times describes him as “a stubborn old man,” and that seems exactly the problem right now. UPDATE: Suleiman just spoke as well, praising Mubarak and asking the youth of Egypt to go home and stop watching satellite television. Only possible conclusion: he’s delusional, too.

by NICHOLAS KRISTOF