The crackpot Lebanonese presidential candidate. When Ahmad Chalabi discovered that he is unpopular or unknown in Iraq, he grabbed the garb of Muqtada As-Sadr to get some popularity and support. Similarly, Shibli Al-Mallat, the current joke candidate for the presidency of Lebanon, aware that he has no chances of getting any support for his campaign in Lebanon (which was announced from New York no less), he visited the Maronite Patriarch yesterday and asked for his "spiritual blessing." This from an ostensibly secular (and formerly progressive) man. Don't pin hopes on anybody in Lebanon. They will eventually disappoint you. (Feel free to pin hope on Lebanonese dishes. They will not disappoint you).