Hosni Mubarak on SNL

http://www.hulu.com/watch/211074/saturday-night-live-weekend-update-hosni-mubarak
http://www.hulu.com/watch/215176/saturday-night-live-weekend-update-hosni-mubarak
So, Jedi mindtricks and time warner jokes aside, I did not think that these clips were that amusing. Is (or rather was) Mubarak a corrupt dictator who quite possibly took advantage of his position and failed to improve the situation of his people and therefore does not deserve our sympathy and support? Yes.  Should we all be rejoicing at his fall and the uncertain future of Egypt? In my opinion, definitely not. I admit that I do not know a lot about Mubarak's reign, but I do know that there has been a truce if not peace between Israel and Egypt since he took over after Anwar el Sadat's assasination in 1981. Mubarak has, according to what little information I have accessed, been generally supportive of Israel, and during his time as president Egypt has been involved in negotions between Israel and the Palestinians. This is not surprising considering that Mubarak supported Sadat's pro-peace efforts and continued the disengagement and peace process with Israel after Sadat's death.
In recent years the economic recession has had a serious negative effect on the United States and other countries such as Egypt. Mubarak attempted to deal with Egypt's economic situation over the last several years, but he did not provide an entirely effective solution. Combined with the corruption of his regime it's no wonder that the Egyptian people don't exactly like him and the "revolution" that led to his fall is hardly surprising. Despite all of that, his fall is not good for Jews, Israelis, Americans, and the West in my opinion. It cannot be said for certain that whatever form of government takes his place will be as pro-Israel as he was nor as close to the United States. Though we have yet to find out what these dramatic developments will bring, I have a bad feeling about the situation. After all, similar revolutions and unstable regime changes have ocurred in the past, specifically 1979, and we all know how well that worked out for Israel and the west. What I'm trying to say is that Mubarak, while a bad president, was good for us and Israel, and that the contempt many Americans have for him and the joy they feel at his fall (as expressed in the SNL clips) is premature, if not misplaced (better the devil you know than the one you don't as the saying goes).