Democracy is never easy, and i dont blame them (the Iraqis) for being afraid to vote.  but the true heros will be the ones that do vote, despite the terrorists. After all, the only losers in the election will be the terorists, and they know it.

Yeah, I am with Dr Guy when he says that the only losers in this election will be the terrorists. And they, too, have known that for a while now and the increased attacks only proves it. Their cowardice is their best weapon.
I am having a hard time sleeping just because of thinking about all the Soldiers in harm's way right now. Soldiers I have not met before or will ever know but the unspoken bond of being of Soldier still links them to me. My Soldiers from my past units are there...my husband is there. I know what they are doing over there is extremely vital for the future of Iraq. And despite what the media is showing, the Iraqi population is extremely grateful.
I will second your statement, Pseudo, and say Good Luck, Iraq and may your future be bright, prosporous, but most of all, free.

It's being reported there is a 72% turnout so far.

You really shouldn't post a poll from al-jazeera, they are nothing but terrorist propaganda.

The numbers being reported are somewhere between 60% and 70% of eligible voters have gone to the polls. That is a PHENOMENAL number given the widespread intimidation by the terrorist insurgents, Zarqawi's declaration of "all-out war" on the election, and the conditions under which the election had to be held.

Every contemporary prediction of the left about the progress in Iraq has been wrong - and each time, they change the subject, minimize, dissemble, bitch about something else. They are simply standing around stomping their feet while history is moving right past them.

Cheers,
Daiwa

Apparently there needs to be a few threats of "all our war" to keep Americans from voting, maybe then our own voting percentages will be as impressive as in Iraq today!!

Sad that the only thing that has to be done in our country to keep people from voting, is make them wait an hour, go to the correct polling place, or (gasp) show ID when registering.

Thank you all for your comments.

Island Dog - I was very encouraged to hear the number they were tossing around earlier. I'm a little disappointed to hear the estimate dropping, but I'm still confident that it will be more than satisfactory. Additionally, I will damn well post a poll from anywhere that I want to. (I was hoping the Arabic language poll would match, but this was fine.) Posting that poll points to the pessimism of the average reader of al-Jazeera, and I was using it as a counterpoint to my own hopeful optimism (if you knew me, you'd know what this sort of optimism about anything means).

Daiwa - I hadn't really intended to turn this into a slam on the left for expecting the worst; I think a bad outcome was something most of us feared. I do hope that most people who criticized the election in Iraq at least begrudge the point that, at this time at least, things seem to be going quite well.

And as far as out own voters go, I can only hope if the numbers of Iraqi voters is at all accurate, some will use this election as an example to be held up for our own!

ps -

You're right. A lot of the give & take has been a bit petty "Na-na-na-na-na-na" lately & I've been guilty of letting my frustration out in that way at times.

But one other thing about the Iraqi election that is truly remarkable is that it was all on foot! In addition to all the intimidating factors, they had to walk, sometimes many miles, to the polls since cars were banned from the street. Can you imagine what the turnout would be here if we had to walk to our polling places? 5%?

Cheers,
Daiwa

You're right. A lot of the give & take has been a bit petty "Na-na-na-na-na-na" lately & I've been guilty of letting my frustration out in that way at times.

We all let our frustrations get the best of us sometimes. I don't know about you, but for me, I like to see passion come through on the articles and posts I read. Yes, sometimes that emotion leads us to overstepping, and sometimes even overshadowing the points we're were trying to make, but they also remind us that the words on our screens are not produced by a computer. Most of us seem to be able to vent our frustrations at someone in one post, then laugh and congratulate them in the next. To me, this is called "being human". I think too many of our elected officials have forgotten that.

But one other thing about the Iraqi election that is truly remarkable is that it was all on foot! In addition to all the intimidating factors, they had to walk, sometimes many miles, to the polls since cars were banned from the street. Can you imagine what the turnout would be here if we had to walk to our polling places? 5%?

Yes, the Iraqis have (among other things) reminded us that what we consider "intimidation" and "disenfranchisement", in most cases is nothing more than inconvenience and pathetic excuses.

Can you imagine the outrage if our polling places became so fascist that they actually expected us to dip our finger in ink to prevent double voting?? The HORROR!!!! ;~D

But one other thing about the Iraqi election that is truly remarkable is that it was all on foot! In addition to all the intimidating factors, they had to walk, sometimes many miles, to the polls since cars were banned from the street.

Mostly, the Iraqis had to walk, yes. In some instances, buses and other vehicles were arranged for voters to be picked up. (In one case, this made them an easier target for attack. In another, the Najaf governor has been accused of only bussing his supporters, although it's unclear if that is an official complaint.)
I point this out not to detract from what the Iraqis had to go through, but more to point out what the government on the national and even local level was willing to do to make this vote succeed.

I'd like to thank both of you, Daiwa and ParaTed2K, for your further comments.