The great liberal cry is now, “Define victory, define victory!” Last night on Hannity & Colmes, this was the only intelligible thing Alan Colmes could say to Newt Gingrich. He said it as though this was the key to Bush’s destruction.
Give me a break. Why, now, are liberals all of a sudden concerned about definitions? Clinton couldn’t even define “is,” and no one even bothered to ask him about it.
It would, perhaps, help if the loudmouths on the left would take a few minutes and actually listen. Or perhaps read. Thinking would also be a worthwhile pastime.
Today, estimates are that over 70% of Iraq’s registered voters – about 11 million people – turned out to vote in the parliamentary election, with minimal violence. The Sunnis, who boycotted the first election, turned out in such large numbers that they ran out of ballots in some places, and voting hours were extended due to the long lines of people still waiting to vote. By the way, I don’t think the U.S. has ever had such a turnout for a national election. (It’s amazing to me that the Iraqis, most of whom don’t really understand democracy yet, seem to care more about it than many Americans. About half of Americans don’t bother to vote, even without the threat of violence.)
Amazing, by any stretch of the imagination. I would call this a success. I would even go so far as to call this a “victory.”
Now, compare this to the start of America’s government. Anyone know how long it was before we had a constitution? We have this crazy notion that our founding fathers all loved each other, and agreed on everything, and that our constitution was welcomed with open arms. It’s not true, you know. My son, who just finished reading a biography of Alexander Hamilton, remarked that the founding fathers “were all jerks.” America, indeed, has had its share of rough spots in becoming a democracy.
The election today is a victory, and even the liberal press has to admit it (though they will refuse to use the word). I’m sure there will be more rough spots ahead for Iraq, but that doesn’t diminish what has been accomplished today.
Thanks. As a wise man once said, “War is hell.” I think about the value of life, and the value of sacrifice. In some respects we seem to value life less than folks did in the past, but at the same time, we aren’t willing to sacrifice it. It makes me wonder what it is that we do value? It’s a complex subject, that’s for sure.
I like your blog. Found myself agreeing with the facts on this post. Still saddened by the loss of lives of both Iraqis, military and civilians of other countries because of war. This does look encouraging, but I still think that war is clear evidence of failure to resolve differences in ways that don’t steal, kill or destroy life. I heard the report of the Iraqi elections on the radio myself yesterday and thank God for some progress. Also don’t know subscribe to democracy as “God’s” government but it is nice to live in the representative one that I do in the U.S. 🙂
Dean