Kerry “Over-Hyped” – Not Iraqi Elections

Some came on crutches, others walked for miles then struggled to read the ballot, but across Iraq, millions turned out to vote Sunday, defying insurgents who threatened a bloodbath.


But Senator John Kerry (D-MA), in an interview on NBC's Meet The Press said "It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote. No one in the United States should try to over-hype this election. I believe the world is less safe today than it was two and a half years ago.”


PoliPundit asks “Why is this guy on Meet the Press? He’s the losing presidential candidate.” Why indeed. He has nothing to offer but negativity. Even George Soros who spent $26 Million dollars to help elect Kerry says “Kerry did not, actually, offer a credible and coherent alternative.'' So when his biggest financial backer doesn’t think he is credible or coherent, why should anyone care to hear his pessimism and his failed campaign rhetoric? We think Kerry is “over-hyped” and the majority of the American people thought so too.


Now on to the good news from the Reuters report about the Iraqi election.

Baghdad's mayor was overcome with emotion by the turnout of voters at City Hall, where he said thousands were celebrating. “I cannot describe what I am seeing. It is incredible. This is a vote for the future, for the children, for the rule of law, for humanity, for love," Alaa al-Tamimi told Reuters.

Western Baghdad polling stations were busy, with long queues of voters. In Sadr City, a poor Shi'ite neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, thick lines of voters turned out, women in black abaya robes in one line, men in another.

In the so-called "triangle of death," a hotbed of Sunni insurgency south of Baghdad, turnout was solid. In Baquba, a rebellious city northeast of Baghdad, spirited crowds clapped and cheered.

In the shrine city of Najaf in the Shi'ite heartland, hundreds of people walked calmly to polling stations. "This is a wedding for all Iraqis. I congratulate all Iraqis on their newfound freedom and democracy," said Jaida Hamza, dressed in a black Islamic veil that also hid her face.

In mainly Shi'ite Basra, Iraq's second biggest city, hundreds of voters queued patiently at polling centers. "I am not afraid," said Samir Khalil Ibrahim. "This is like a festival for all Iraqis, smiling after he voted.

In Mosul, scene of some of the worst insurgent attacks in recent months, U.S. and local officials said turnout was surprisingly high. One of the first to vote was President Ghazi al-Yawar, a Sunni Muslim Arab with a large tribal following, who cast his ballot inside Baghdad's fortress-like Green Zone. "Thanks be to God," he told reporters, emerging from the booth with his right index finger stained with bright blue ink to show he had voted. "I hope everyone will go out and vote."

In Falluja, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people turned out, confounding expectations. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited to vote. "We want to be like other Iraqis, we don't want to always be in opposition," said Ahmed Jassim.