this nails it, I think

2143: Mamoun Mandy (see entry at 2110) tells the BBC: “This is the first time I’ve been convinced that the people around Mubarak gave him a distorted image of what has been going on on the ground. On the ground, you’d never remotely think that speech was acceptable. It was written from a pre-25 January world which has no connection with what’s going on on the ground. I am so worried about the future of this city. Mubarak’s regime has only a few hours to decide: is it Mubarak or Egypt? If they do not accept the demands of the people, I think we are in for something really ugly tonight.”