MIDDLE EAST First lady praises Egypt elections

Laura Bush credited President Mubarak for his move toward free elections.
GIZA, Egypt (AP) -- In front of the pyramids, Laura Bush said Monday that building democracy is a slow process, and she praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for what she called an important first step toward open elections.
"I think he's been very bold and wise to take the first step," Bush said of the president who has served 24 years without facing an opposing candidate for re-election.
A day after stepping into tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, America's first lady spoke out on another heated controversy stirring along the Mediterranean Sea.
Egyptians are deciding whether to allow the country's first multicandidate presidential election in September, but many of Mubarak's political opponents say the plan is little more than window dressing designed to appease reformists while keeping Mubarak's ruling party in power.
Bush told reporters that sometimes "you have to be slow" when implementing political freedoms. She noted that the United States allowed slavery long after the Constitution was adopted.
Last week, the White House said President Bush supports Mubarak's plan to hold free and competitive elections for president and urged Egypt to allow for full campaigning as well as international observers.
Mubarak hasn't formally announced he will run again but is widely expected to do so.
Televised appearance
Mrs. Bush spoke to reporters in front of the Giza pyramids after getting a tour of a new excavation site there. Earlier in the day, she and Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, spent time together at the Ittihadiyya Palace, a school for girls and the set of the Egyptian version of "Sesame Street."
The first ladies taped a segment on reading with Khokha, a peach puppet with a mop of purple and brown hair that is the star of "Alam Simsim." The show is in Arabic but "Auntie Laura," as Khokha called Mrs. Bush, read her lines in English and nailed it in one take.
Mrs. Bush's breezy travels Monday were in contrast to her hectic stops Sunday at sites sacred to Muslims and Jews. Mrs. Bush was heckled by protesters at the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, while Israeli police and U.S. Secret Service agents had to hold back the crowds.