Democracy in Iraq? Gimme A Break

Bob Herbert of the New York Times nods politely towards my opinion that the voting yesterday was a heartening, even historic moment. Then he embraces the opinions of most of this blog's readers and details the many ways in which Iraq is still a disaster getting worse and far, far from a democracy as we understand it. That right-wing bastion the editorial board of the New York Times also weighs in, acknowledging the heavy work ahead and massive obstacles to success but leaning more towards my positive spin. And while Bush and his people thump their chests and crow about the elections, let's remember that they initially wanted to put off elections far into the future but it was an Iraqi figure -- Grand Ayatollah Sistani -- who insisted they be held as soon as possible. Bush embraced that because he had no choice.