Wow, the upcoming Iraqi election really is going to be like our own:
With just over two weeks until the Iraqi elections, the United States is lowering its expectations for both the turnout and the results of the vote, increasingly emphasizing other steps over the next year as more important to Iraq’s political transformation, according to U.S. officials.
The Bush administration played down voter turnout yesterday in determining the elections’ legitimacy and urged Americans not to get bogged in a numbers game in judging the balloting, a reflection of the growing concern over how much the escalating insurgency and the problem of Sunni participation may affect the vote.
“I would . . . really encourage people not to focus on numbers, which in themselves don’t have any meaning, but to look on the outcome and to look at the government that will be the product of these elections,” a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity at a White House briefing yesterday. The official highlighted the low voter turnout in U.S. elections as evidence that polling numbers are not essential to legitimacy.
If there’s one thing the Bush administration does very well, it’s ignoring the meaning of numbers.
51% = mandate.
Spending surplus + lower taxes + higher spending = less deficit
zero weapons of mass destruction = need to invade
etc.
Meeanwhile, there’s one important way this election is not like ours: evidently, Iraqi immigrants in the U.S. can vote in it! Gee, do you think that Iraqis who emigrated to the U.S. are likely to vote for a hard line, theocratic ruler in Iraq? I wonder if that’s why the election has been opened to them…
Can you imagine the results if the U.S. election was open to emigrants? Say, all Americans who fled the country because of the dictatorial ruler, who went to Canada, are allowed to “remotely” vote. Wow… just imagine.
