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Pundit Roundtable

Hi! Welcome back to PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE, of which we have an abbreviated version this week. This is your host, Ken McCracken.

Next Sunday will be an Open Mic edition of PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE. On Friday evening I will post the topic questions, and anyone may email me a response. Unless it is way unclassy, you will have access to the mighty WILLisms.com soapbox to air your opinions. I hope you will join in!

Here is our sole topic for this week -

Iraqis this week turned out in droves to vote in their first parliamentary elections, without terrorist violence. How important was this vote, both for the Iraqis, and for President Bush?

And here is our sole guest, returning pundit Dan Morgan of NoSpeedBumps.com. Dan, what do you think?

The vote in Iraq was the most important milestone since the successful invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein. Now the Iraqis finally have the foundations for forming an entire government based on the democratic process. The fact that people turned out in such great numbers, and with the blessing of local religious leaders, points to a promising future. Indeed, this is a lesson in democracy for the entire Muslim Middle East. And if Iraqis can now refine their budding free market economy, leverage their oil wealth, and avoid the economic and political corruption typical in the Middle East - their future is very bright.

These elections prove that President Bush has been carefully following a plan in Iraq, although his Democratic doubters constantly complain that he has no plan. Democrats will continue to denounce Bush to score political points, but Bush will prevail in the end. As Iraqi security forces begin taking over patrols, American casualties will drop steadily. Once US troops are on bases and mostly out of harm's way, the entire controversy in Iraq will just fade away. And we will be left with a free, democratic, and prosperous Iraq that stands as a beacon of hope for reform and modernization to Muslims throughout the Middle East. Bush's Iraq undertaking, including nation building, will ultimately be judged a success by all except the most cynical observers.

The Host's Last Word: This is a big milestone, but not as critical as that first vote for an interim government taken last January. That was the big one, but this vote certainly builds upon that foundation. There is no turning back from democracy and eventual peace in Iraq now - the insurgency has been utterly defeated politically, thought not yet defeated militarily. The terrorists in Iraq have not one single victory of any kind to their credit, and now even the Sunni minority has rejected the terrorists en masse.

This is an important victory for Bush, but an even more important victory for Republicans running for office in '06. Just when the Democrats' retreat and defeat strategy becomes manifest, along comes an event that just destroys all the claims upon which that dubious strategy is based. President Bush can enjoy a slow slide up in the polls from here on in, not that he pays much attention to those sorts of things. But this will have coattails that will help a great many other Republicans up for office next year.

This latest vote in Iraq proves that our effort there is not a failure, is enjoying popularity with the Iraqi people, and that we are winning their hearts and minds (not difficult considering the actions of our adversaries). Woe unto those unwise Democrats who continue to see Iraq as nothing but another incarnation of Vietnam.

That's it! Thanks for coming by, and please do join in, or at least visit, next week's OPEN MIC PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE!

Posted by Ken McCracken · 18 December 2005 02:29 PM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at December 18, 2005 03:47 PM

Posted by: Notta Libb at December 20, 2005 01:40 AM

Posted by: RT at December 21, 2005 12:44 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at December 25, 2005 07:41 PM