I just got off the phone with a bleary-eyed Egyptian-American former journalist who had been up until 5 a.m. watching Egypt’s presidential election results, figures it now seems might not matter at all.

Last week, Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces disbanded the country’s parliament. Yesterday they followed up with constitutional amendments further consolidating legislative and executive power in the military. It’s now unclear what powers the newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, will even have.

“The first thing my wife and I say each day to each other is ‘good morning.’ The second thing is ‘oh my God.’”

“The President Who Isn’t President,” he told me. “That’s what my headline would be if I were writing the article right now.”