Sunday, January 30, 2005

A Post Iraqi Election Observation

The bitter opposition has wasted little time in making their usual and highly predictable negative comments, following one of the most exciting events most Iraqi citizens have ever experienced. In their bitterness, they have consistently given very little support to this process. And, have consistently offered much unwarranted criticism in the days leading up to the election. To hear them tell it, this election was never going to be pulled off. But now the election is over and they are lining up to discredit this election, much in the same way that the left has tried to discredit our own.

"It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Instead of being positive and happy for the Iraqi people, the Massachusetts Senator gives the impression that he is sorry that it was held. Instead of conveying a message of hope and optimism, he gave a message with the same old tired negativity, that only succeeds in breeding more negativity. Arguments just for arguments' sake are nothing more than the equivalents of pouting and in some more extreme cases, temper tantrums.

To the liberal left I say, do not minimize this moment. Do not cast doubt on any honest attempt to offer an opportunity for people that have been oppressed for many years, to begin a road towards freedom, liberty, and self-determination. To the right wing I say, do not look at this as a total victory. It is just one step in a series of steps, but quite a large step nonetheless. To both sides I would say that we will not know if this has been a success or a failure, until well after the fact. History has a way of judging outcomes in these types of situations far better than both overconfidence and naysaying does .

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