A trip around the Blogosphere (and yes, with a heavy dose of my blogroll, although not exclusively):
- From on the ground, Omar at Iraq the Model has post called “The People have won.” The money quote:
I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world’s tyrants.
- Along those lines Kevin Alyward notes: Iraqis Give Terrorists The Finger (and has a great pic)–Jeff Goldstein had a similar thought: Iraqis Give Zarqawi the (ink-stained) Finger..
- James Joyner sees that: High Turnout in Baghdad Points to Early Success and describes the initial turnout figures as “stunning “.
- Dean Esmay has a message for the nay-sayers.
- Roger L. Simon: “Wowee!” (and he has several links to various stories on the election).
- Daniel W. Drezner comments and provides some linkage as well.
- Ann Alhouse compares the coverage of CNN and the NYT.
- Dave Wissing also comments on MSM and blog coverage.
- Friends of Democracy has tons of coverage: click and scroll.
- Hennessy’s View : Better Than Expected.
- Matthew Yglesias seems to be begrudgingly admitting that elections were more successful than expected, but that really it doesn’t matter (here and here). Indeed, his first two election post are essentially big “buts,” and the third resorts to sarcasm.
- Armando blogging at Daily Kos: “This Election is simply, in my estimation, an exercise in pretty pictures.”
- Despite some wild speculation about Bush and the new Iraqi government, Barabara O’Brien at The Mahablog acknowledges the import of the initial turnout reports:
Reuters reports that Iraqis are turning out to vote in large numbers, in spite of the danger. This is good news for all of us. A large voter turnout, seems to me, will confirm the legitimacy of the new government and prevent the nation from becoming a failed state.
- bLogicus: Iraq Makes History, Elections Begin :: Iraq (and he has a round-up).
- Pejman notes: Hope Springs Anew–As Does Myopic Pettiness. Indeed.
- The Belmont Club has some interesting stuff, including a regional break-down of the voting from the BBC.
Juan Cole is cherry picking negative news and blogging that. That isn’t exactly sound methodology if one is seeking a useful evaluation of the event. - The Pajama Hadin ask: – Was the Iraq Election a success?
- Oliver Willis yesterday:
You know, I really wish Iraq were having an honest, safe, real election. But that isn’t happening, and that’s a shame. Even if you were and are opposed to this war, as I am, you would wish the Bush people would do things right just for the simple reason that it would help our standing in the world. But they can’ even do that.
Acknowledging that the event was far from perfect (there was violence, the lack of public campaigning, etc.) I am at a loss to undertand this evaluation–especially since it was posted before the election actually took place.
- Hugh Hewitt has lengthy comments on the events of the day and the coverage thereof.
- Powerline notes: A Smashing Success and has several other posts on the subject.
- As of noon, central nothing from Atrios, Josh Micha Marshall or Crooked Timber (just to note that I have looked). Noting from Stephen Bainbridge nor Stephen Green as yet (as of 12:23 central). The silenece of the major leftish blogs is noted by Michelle Malkin (and others) as well. Update: John Quiggin of Crooked Timber makes some interesting observations.
- Truth. Quante-fied. notes: A Bright New Day in Iraq.
- Michelle Malkin specifically highlights women voting in Iraq.
- John Cole issues a challenge. He also notes The Shifting Goalposts.
- Joe Gandelman notes A Day Of Hopeful Tears.
- James Joyner round-ups up headlines from the NYT.
- Kevin Drum comments on the positive MSM coverage.
This election isn’t the end, but a beginning, and it may yet go sour. As such, it is easy to get overly celebratory about the day’s events. Still: the building of a stable state, like any other endeavor is a step-by-step affair. To consider the events of January 30, 2024 anything other than a success is to be blinded by partisanship. Of course, to pretend like this is success defined is also to be similarly blinded.
Still, there seems to be more of the former than the latter. I find it dissappointing, and vexing, to note that there are those so infected by partisanship that they cannot at least acknowledge these elections are a step in the right direction.
The bottom line is: not every event in the world is part of a game between Reps and Dems where one side scores and the other side falls behind. Too many people treat the world like one football game where their team can do no wrong, and the other team must lose.
(Feel free to link up with your own election comments–positive, negative or neutral. Plus, I am updating as well)
February 1st, 2024 at 4:36 pm
[...] #8217;t. To re-iterate a point I made in regards to the Iraqi elections (at the bottom of this), and an idea that some day I plan to better develop: politics isn’t a football game in w [...]
January 30th, 2024 at 12:12 pm
A Bright New Day in Iraq
PoliBlog is rapidly becoming one of my new favorites, and they have a great blogosphere round-up of what people are saying now that the polls in Iraq are closed. Although they somehow missed us, I won’t hold it against him.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:19 pm
“This is Democracy”: Voting in Iraq
The polls are closed in Iraq, and the election is over. So how did it go?
From the AP:
Iraqis defied violence and calls for a boycott to cast ballots in Iraq’s first free election in a half-century Sunday. Insurgents seeking to wreck the vote s…
January 30th, 2024 at 12:46 pm
Iraqi Elections
So far, despite repeated pessimism, the Iraqi elections are going well. Yes, there has been some violence, but we expected it. The
January 30th, 2024 at 1:05 pm
Iraqis vote – who’s happy, who’s not
AP “news” service reportsWASHINGTON – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Iraqi elections went “better than expected” Sunday, despite conflicting reports about the extent of voter turnout in areas plagued by intimidation and violence. She …
January 30th, 2024 at 1:32 pm
Signified Elsewhere: Iraq elections edition
I don’t normally do the link round-up thing, but today seems like a good day to make an exception: Steven Taylor rounds up posts on the Iraqi election, as well as providing a bit of perspective of his own: The…
January 30th, 2024 at 1:33 pm
Iraqis Give Zarqawi the (ink-stained) Finger
I'm proud to be an American every day -- but today, I'm especially proud.* **** If you have time today, take John Cole's challenge. For instance, were you to be clicking around the blogs and come across something like this You kn…
January 30th, 2024 at 2:14 pm
The Iraqi Vote
When it is all said and done, the new Iraqi leader will have more legitamacy to his office than the governor of Washington can claim, no? UPDATE: Steven Taylor is gathering reactions from around the web….
January 30th, 2024 at 2:38 pm
Iraq vote “not legitimate”; Berlin Wall “torn down by a few lawless vandals.”
There are many on the left who have never had a positive word to say about anything that’s happened in Iraq. I take their silence on this day, as noted by Michelle Malkin, as a very positive sign. My joy is only tempered slightly by my horror at how…
January 30th, 2024 at 2:38 pm
Iraq vote “not legitimate”; Berlin Wall “torn down by a few lawless vandals.”
There are many on the left who have never had a positive word to say about anything that’s happened in Iraq. I take their silence on this day, as noted by Michelle Malkin, as a very positive sign. My joy is only tempered slightly by my horror at how…
January 30th, 2024 at 2:38 pm
Iraq vote “not legitimate”; Berlin Wall “torn down by a few lawless vandals.”
There are many on the left who have never had a positive word to say about anything that’s happened in Iraq. I take their silence on this day, as noted by Michelle Malkin, as a very positive sign. My joy is only tempered slightly by my horror at how…
January 30th, 2024 at 11:12 pm
Iraqis Overwhelmingly Endorse Democracy And Defy Terrorism
Iraqi Voters Send Insurgents A Message A high turnout of Iraqis today embraced democracy in the country’s first free elections in 50 years — thus giving a defiant collective gesture to
January 30th, 2024 at 11:15 pm
Iraqis Overwhelmingly Endorse Democracy And Defy Terrorism
Iraqi Voters Send Insurgents A Message A high turnout of Iraqis today embraced democracy in the country’s first free elections in 50 years — thus giving a defiant collective gesture to
January 31st, 2024 at 8:37 am
Iraqi Elections: Right Wing Gloating?
Matt Yglesias, while generally conceding that the elections themselves went well, laments that
It’s time to prepare for three weeks of gloating from the hawks before they realize that nothing has really changed and they return to previous hawk prac…
January 31st, 2024 at 10:21 am
Iraqi Elections: Not a Matter for Scoring Debating Points
Posting will be light today. I have a workplace spirituality talk to give and some Kiwanis work to do. Still, with all the words that will be written about the Iraqi election, I think that this comment by Steven Taylor,
January 31st, 2024 at 12:25 pm
Religion of Peace Update 1/31/05
Today’s Religion of Peace Update is brought to you by the folks at American Greetings, now offering their new line of CAIR Bears. (Thanks to Eric Smith for the CAIR Bears pic) and by the Mathemeticians for Freedom Alliance reminding…