Purple Reign

In the Ukraine the color of freedom was orange. But in Iraq today, many people look like they have been eating blueberry cobbler. They voted in defiance of the insurgency, and had their fingers stained purple as a safeguard against double counting.

Bush went on TV on Sunday afternoon, smirked into the camera and shouted, “Boo ya! How you like them apples?!” Behind him was a whiteboard, with the words Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran listed out. Check marks appeared after the first two items.

Actually, he gave a brief, carefully worded speech that congratulated Iraqis, thanked the international crowd, mentioned something about a march of freedom, and noted the hard work ahead. But you could see the “look at me, I’ve got political capital” attitude in the way he swaggered away from the microphone.

Democrats quickly responded by downplaying the significance of the election. John Kerry wrinkled up his brow and intoned, “It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can’t vote and doesn’t (sic) vote.”

Notice this isn’t the same thing as calling the elections illegitimate. Politically, the party out of power must always say things that cannot be wrong, regardless of outcome. If the economy tanks or booms, if another terrorist attack happens or doesn’t, if Iraq is a success or a failure – folks like Hillary Clinton will make carefully-worded comments that could be considered prescient, no matter what actually happens.

Do yourself a favor, and check out Iraqi weblogs today, and read some of these accounts firsthand. Here's a good index of links. And it will be interesting to see, in the weeks ahead, if the Iranian insurgency pushes even harder against the mullahs.