The vote in Iraq seems to have gone as good as anyone could have expected, and better than pessimists predicted. That's cool. You can't knock democracy, even in its protoplasmic form. Chris Albriton has his observations from the street.

I'm inclined to point out that in spite of a fair amount of polling day violence ("a few dozen deaths" the wires report), the actual machenery of balloting seems to work better in the middle of a warzone than in fucking Ohio:

The predicted low turnout in Anbar, a hotspot of Sunni resistance to the American occupation, was exceeded to such an extent that extra voting materials had to be rushed to outlying villages, where long lines were formed at polling stations, Mr. Ayar said.

What a novel idea! When long lines form, extra voting materials are rushed to the spot of trouble. Polls close on time, no one walks away. In Ohio this year, people waited until 4 in the goddamn morning to vote.

Not to get off on a tangent, but Kenneth Blackwell should go to prison. I'm deadly serious. He should be put in a public stockade and grade school children should be bussed in from far and wide to pummel him with rotten fruit as a lesson in civics. However, since his tactic helped put his bosses over the top, he's more likely to get heavy backing in his run for Governor 2006, shades of his predicessor Katherine Harris.

Anyway, bully for Iraq on having a relatively orderly election. The question is whether the government elected will be able to siginificantly improve things. I think progress is going to continue to be slow, and hinges on whether or not the Sunni population will consider this government legitimate. If so, then there's hope. If not, then I don't see much light at the end of the tunnel.

As for us and our Troops; we'll keep spending billions and loosing thousands every year for a while yet, I think. The major question here is whether or not the Insurgents momentum is dulled by the elections, and whether or not they are able to secure access to more powerful arms. The weakness of the US Occupation is its supply lines, and if they are able to find a way to bring down our air transports -- e.g. if this starts happening with any regularity -- we'll be in serious trouble.