First Thing You Do Is Count All The Votes

As everyone outside the MSM knows (exception here), Iraq's holding a free and democratic election. Security is tight; so far, no major attacks. The festive (source: Reuters) pride, and calm, reflects strong participation by Sunnis, as even Al Jazeera concedes: "former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party are urging Sunnis to vote in Thursday's poll and warning al-Qaida fighters not to launch attacks." Even the terrorists are trying ballots, not bullets:

Armed with assault rifles, a group of men in black hoods walked through parts of the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi plastering walls with election posters.

The men, who claimed to be insurgents, then raised a large banner supporting a Sunni Arab candidate. Standing next to them was a man, wearing no mask and carrying no weapon, holding up a poster for other Sunni candidates.

“Elect them for the sake of defending the rights of the Iraqi population,” the first banner said. “They have pure hands,” said the second.

Don't tell lefties or Democrats, but this is good news, says Michael Rubin in the WSJ:

Iraqis will go to the polls tomorrow for the third time this year. Their actions mark both a triumph for the Iraqi people and a warning for Arab autocrats. Not only has the Iraqi march toward democracy proved naysayers wrong, but Iraqis' growing embrace of democracy demonstrates the wisdom of staying the course. Iraqis are changing political culture. Howard Dean and John Murtha may believe that the U.S. military has lost. Brent Scowcroft may think Arab democracy a pipe dream. They are mistaken. . .

The process of democratization may be messy--but it is working. Iraqis are frustrated with their situation but, unlike elsewhere in the Arab world, they can now hold their government to account. In Brent Scowcroft's world of realpolitik, Arab regimes are unaccountable to their people. There are no constituents. Hatred festers, and autocrats blame outsiders. Instability and, in the case of the Arab world, a half century of intermittent warfare results. In the face of stagnant government and corruption, Tunisians, Egyptians and Palestinians have turned toward Islamic radicals who seek to restrict freedom and promote terror. But Iraqis have an alternative. Their vote has meaning. Arab regimes expect citizens to serve the ruler. But in Iraq, voters insist that politicians serve the people.

(via Michelle Malkin, Right Wing News, MaxedOutMama, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Normblog)