Egypt's President Behaves Like His Predecessors The freshly scrawled graffiti depicting Mohammed Morsi as a pharaonic Saddam Hussein tells the tale of high hopes dashed with record speed: Barely six months after becoming Egypt's first democratically elected president, the Islamist is widely accused of abandoning pledges of inclusive government for doctrinaire and authoritarian ways. Some say it should come as no surprise: heavy-handed rule has a history in Egypt and in much of the region - as do unfulfilled promises of reform. In the past three weeks alone, Morsi has given himself near-absolute powers; placed himself above any oversight; allowed or looked the other way when his supporters set upon peaceful protesters outside his palace or besieged the nation's highest court to stop judges from issuing an unfavorable ruling; and, ominously, indicated he was spying on his foes. Borrowing a page from his predecessors' governance manual, Morsi justified his actions by speaking, albeit cryptically, of a "conspiracy" aimed at destroying state institutions and derailing the transition to democracy. He offered no evidence to back his allegation, saying only that he would do everything he can to protect the nation. "I see what you don't see," he told state television a week after he touched off a political crisis Nov. 22 by issuing decrees that gave him sweeping powers. Young girls pose for a photograph by a wall painted with graffiti showing President Mohammed Morsi, left, and a split portrait of former Defense Minister, Hussain Tantawi, center, and former President Hosni Mobarak, right, in front of the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The actions of the 61-year-old, U.S.-trained engineer have a lot to do with a political system that in six decades of de facto military rule has grown accustomed to having one man with all the power concentrated in his hands. Some in Egypt argue that one-man rule is an enduring legacy of pharaonic times when the leader was treated as a god. In Morsi's case, critics and analysts believe his actions are dictated by the powerful group he hails from, the Muslim Brotherhood, although they only have anecdotal evidence to support that contention. "In the final analysis, he is a dictator," said analyst and former lawmaker Emad Gad. But he is only carrying out the will of the Brotherhood after he promised to be a president for all Egyptians. Gad and others were surprised that Morsi made the power grab so quickly. But Gehad el-Haddad, a Brotherhood spokesman, dismissed charges that Morsi embraced an autocratic style of governance, emphasizing the president's popular election. "Those who claim he is a pharaoh or a dictator need to produce proof to back their argument or be quiet," he said. The Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest Islamist group, had been outlawed for nearly 60 years until it emerged as the country's most powerful political force following Mubarak's ouster in last year's uprising. Critics accuse the group of monopolizing power as a prelude to its longtime dream of turning Egypt into an Islamic state. The military officers who seized power in 1952, ending three decades of a Western-style democracy under a monarch and British occupation, promised to return to the barracks after six months. Instead, they founded decades of military rule with Gamal Abdel-Nasser emerging as the country's strongman two years later after a power struggle with an older officer. Anwar Sadat, who succeeded him in 1970, jailed his rivals a year later to consolidate his grip on power, marketing his move a "corrective revolution."