In fact, we do know where the Shi`ites of Lebanon stand. Not only from election results, but also from regular public opinion surveys. Also, I mean, it would have been quite relevant to point out Mattar's connection to Hariri Inc, and the efforts by Hariri Inc to promote Fayyad. I mean, nobody in South Lebanon or Biqa` knows who this Fayyad is. She was a "cause celebre" for the Hariri camp who were, and still are, desperately looking for Hariri Shi`ites--"good" Shi`ites that they can promote. Like the new 17-year old "cleric" Muhammad Hajj Hasan, who was given a party by Hariri camp (named it Free Shi`ite Current, no less). It would have been far more representative to interview Lebanese "Shi`ites"--in the Lebanese state definition of sect members, but here I mean Shi`ite-born--who are members of leftist parties--especially that South Lebanon served for decades as a center for leftist and Arab nationalist activism before the advent of religious ideologies. Those are truly independent "Shi`ites"--people like assistant secretary-general of the Lebanese Communist Party, Sa`dallah Mazra`ani, who transcended the sect. Of course, these are the people who don't see themselves in sectarian prisms, and do not belong to any sectarian group. But for the West, you are in a sectarian category no matter what. In the same way that Mattar is not a "Shi`ite" but was interviewed in an article on the subject, so why not the rest. In other words, ideally, we should think and treat the individuals not merely as eternal members of their sects--and sects are forced on you in Lebanon. There is little choice (in death, birth, inheritance, marriage, divorce, and electoral laws) of the sect. But the picture is more complex and more fluid. (This Farid Mattar featured in the article was a roommate of Thomas Friedman at Oxford (Mattar never completed his degree, however, although he is called Dr. in Lebanon. Friedman once asked me whether I know his "close friend" Muhammad Matar. I knew Muhammad's brother, Rabih. Both were showy Fath activists at AUB before becoming sectarian, AND anti-Palestinian operators.)
PS Forgot this story: The late Edward Said once told me that after the installation of Amin Gemayyel as president by Israel/US, Muhammad Matar and Nawwaf Salam visited Amin Gemayyel and offered themselves as Muslim ministers in his government. I need to ask Nawwaf about that.