Sunni Side of the Street

According to CNN.com, participation in the referendum vote on the Iraqi constitution was at 63% on Saturday. This exceeded the 58% that turned out for the election in January. And not only was there a relative absence of violence, the Sunnis were in the game this time:

Partial results released by local officials showed the measure had passed despite high turnout in some Sunni areas where opposition to the constitution ran strongest.

There's no way they can fast talk an excuse - orderly participation still demonstrates support of the principles of democracy even if the vote is 'No'. Sunnis may claim the vote was stolen through ballot trickery and manipulative local officials, but this is a familiar litany of complaint even for "advanced" democracies. Eventually they may attempt to influence the judicial system through parliamentary procedure, obstinacy, or the blatant corruption of local officials. But even this would be an improvement over IED politics - and ultimately another endorsement of the American model in the style of grand old Chicago, New Jersey, and New Orleans.

I don't know about you, but I haven't been paying much attention to Iraq lately. I take it for granted that things are not as rosy as the Bush administration would like us to believe - nor are they as dire as the ubiquitous media reporting about the latest body count. And frankly, with Katrina, the Pakistani earthquake and the avian flu - we've got other concerns, collectively speaking. Tamiflu might be a new dish at the Thanksgiving table this year.

But can't this vote be construed as good news? Or are you one of those people who are so enraged at the current administration that you seethe for complete failure of democracy in Iraq? If the goal is get our troops home sooner, doesn't this help?