MOSCOW -- Lawfully elected leaders are rarely charismatic. There must be something about a democratic vote that is incompatible with intense political charisma.
When people mourned former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's death earlier this year, the spirit of the ceremonies was sober and contemplative, not one of despair and exaltation as it had been, say, with the funerals of Princess Diana and Mother Theresa in recent years.
On Nov. 12, another popular icon was laid to rest: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. His burial in the West Bank city of Ramallah turned predictably chaotic and emotional, as his supporters felt they had lost not just a president but a father and maybe even a saint.