Even though opposition leaders expect little from President Bush directly, they say his stand against "tyranny" at least provides a small opening for them. Hassanin conjectured that the presence of a foreign television crew at his sports club speech kept police from breaking up the rally. "At least they know outsiders are interested in Egypt," he said of the government.
Others point out that Bush could take small, symbolic steps. "No one expects Bush to turn off the money to Egypt or break relations," said Ibrahim, referring to the $2 billion in U.S. aid provided annually to Egypt. "But how about not inviting Mubarak to the White House? That would be a start."
Ibrahim was once jailed for 15 months on charges, later dropped, of sullying Egypt's image and illegally receiving funds from the European Union to monitor 1995 elections. He acknowledges that his candidacy is effectively a publicity stunt. "I want to encourage others. We can have one, two, hundreds of candidates," he said.
Saadawi, the third candidate, has been traveling outside Egypt and could not be reached for her views. She has issued statements arguing that it would be fit and proper for a woman to rule Egypt and has called for Egypt to fight "plunder and aggression by the U.S. and Israel."
While these symbolic candidacies are in full swing, Mubarak's intentions have been difficult to pin down. In early January, Kamal Shazli, assistant secretary general of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, announced that the party had already selected the president as its candidate. Gamal Mubarak quickly contradicted him and labeled the announcement "contemptuous of the people's will."
During interviews with foreign and Egyptian reporters this month, President Mubarak danced around the issue. At one point, he said he had yet to decide. Then, to the satellite television channel al-Arabiya, he hinted he would run if the people wanted him to.
In mid-January, he called an Egyptian talk show and spoke wistfully of the difficulties of being president. "It is very tough to be in office. It is no luxury at all," he said. "Anyone who would be president of Egypt will have to work until he is drained of energy. It is a job that consumes one's health, time and nerves.
"I cannot go visit anyone because I am afraid that security will be a bother," he said. "I cannot have a walk like anyone else. . . . I am stripped of my freedoms." With those caveats, he welcomed competition. "Let them all run," he said.
The invitation did not translate into support for constitutional change, however. According to the pro-government al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, Mubarak told a closed meeting of "intellectuals" on Jan. 16 that "foreign powers" were funding the demand for constitutional changes. The same day, his party's secretary general, Safwat Sharif, repeated the accusation.
On Saturday while traveling to an African summit, Mubarak told reporters that the current system of having parliament choose the president has kept Egypt stable and that demands for constitutional change were pointless.
In any case, some opposition leaders think Mubarak is unstoppable for now. In an interview two days before his arrest, Ayman Nour said, "We expect him to run and to win, though that is not what we hope. The struggle is just beginning."
Nour's party has come up with a program to introduce rule by parliament in Egypt, with a weak presidency. Another group, the Committee in Defense of Democracy, wants to make the president more answerable to parliament.
