Dave Lemen

Elections in Iraq

News from the Iraqi elections today is still very sketchy. If democracy takes hold in Iraq, some years hence, I'm sure Iraqi TV networks will have the same minute-by-minute scoreboard updates, interspersed with footage from identical-looking hotel ballrooms of partying partisans that we watch helplessly on American election nights. For now, CNN is reporting better-than-expected turnout, which gives us cause for hope.

The Mesopotamian describes the event as Suicide Bombers v. Suicide Voters, with 30 or more people giving their lives to vote. Though the ultimate historical impact of this first election cannot be known yet, my jaded, cynical heart is wholely with the courageous people who voted. American voter turnout in national elections stays between 50 and 60 percent -- and that without graphic death threats or an indelible, purple stain on our fingers identifying us as one who voted.