Pakistan's fragile democracy

It was a puzzling paradox that didn't seem to bother pundits a bit this week when Pakistan's opposition decried election delays and at the same time complained that the elections would be rigged anyhow.

The rampant political posturing in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto just confirms what the world already knew - that Pakistan's democracy is fragile at best and illusory at worst.

Supposedly, Benazir Bhutto had intended on the very day she was assassinated to meet with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Patrick Kennedy in order to give them evidence that the Pakistani military intelligence agency had plans to rig the election in favor of the party of President Musharraf.

Maybe so. It would not be the first time elections had been rigged, but no evidence has been presented since Bhutto's death to confirm any actual plot.

Besides, if the elections were being rigged, why did Bhutto's widower, Asif Zardari, press so hard to have them held on Jan. 8, as originally scheduled? Clearly he wanted to take advantage of the sympathy vote engendered by the assassination, but if the vote was rigged, there would be no sympathy vote in the final tally, would there? So it just doesn't make sense.

Bottom line is, there was every reason to postpone the election in the wake of the assassination. The country, while not in chaos, was certainly in disarray, and a delay until February allows everyone to make their case much more convincingly and without appealing strictly to the raw emotion associated with Bhutto's death.

For those sports fans whose appetite for football has not yet been sated by the endless diet of college bowl games, there's another gridiron season about to begin: the NFL playoffs.

Games begin this weekend and pro football fans finally will get answers to questions that have been building all season:

. Is the NFC really as weak compared to the AFC as the pundits would have us believe?

. Can Brett Favre's magic be sustained through the playoffs?

. Can anyone beat the Patriots?

The last question might be the most interesting one. Whether you respect or hate New England's cold-hearted romp through the regular season, you have to give some credit to a team that racked up a 16-0 record.

Whether that record remains spotless through the grind of the playoffs is a big reason to keep tuned to the NFL.

The dogs are coming - plenty of them.

Winter fun of the sled-dog variety will be running this weekend at the inaugural Flathead Sled Dog Days.

The sled-dog races to be staged north of Whitefish Lake promise to be a competitive venture, with 27 teams expected for 50- and 100-mile races.

It promises to be fun, and may be the start of an exciting winter tradition.