Historic Election Fails to Rouse The Press

Why is it that we aren't being bombarded with stories about the historic election that has taken place in Iraq this week? This is a story that should be dominating the news right now.

Take the Western politics out of it, and you're STILL left with a very compelling story to be told. An estimated 11 million Iraqis turned out for the vote. ELEVEN MILLION. That's between 65 and 70% of the eligible voting population. Add to that the element of danger in going to the polls (because of lingering terrorist attacks), and you've got a pretty damned remarkable turnout.

This election is a very important moment in the history of the region (and the world). We're talking about the first constitutional democracy in the Middle East. We're talking about a freely elected government after decades of oppression under a brutal dictatorship. A place where your leaders will no longer throw you into a wood chipper or extinguish cigars on your eyeballs just because you oppose their politics (or resist his sons' raping of your virgin daughter on her wedding night - how dare you!).

We also can't forget the fact that Americans made this possible. Specifically, President Bush, his cabinet, and most importantly the U.S. Armed Forces. The best military in the world, made up entirely of volunteers. Through their vision and sacrifice, they are changing the political landscape of the Middle East. The radical theocracies and dictatorships cannot be allowed to thrive in this volatile region. Especially when they pose a threat to their neighbors and the rest of the world.

Now, you don't have to agree with the reasoning for going to war. You don't have to like Gee-Dub Bush. We all know mistakes have been made (by Democrats and Republicans alike). Rather than dwell on them and engage in partisan politics, why don't we all look at the bigger picture here. We're over there, and we need to see it through to the end. We need to do the right thing (and we're doing it).

If 11 million Iraqis (risking their lives to go to the polls) don't convince you that this is what the people of Iraq want, then I don't know what will. I'm still in awe of the relative short period of time that this was accomplished in. I think ultimately, democracy in the Iraq is going to be a great thing. Hopefully, other Middle Eastern countries will follow suit and respect their own people enough to do it. (I'm not entirely hopeful that this will happen anytime soon...but I'm still hopeful nonetheless. Unfortunately, I see more conflict ahead before that happens ::coughIRANcough::)

As remarkable as this election is, I'm a little bit disappointed in the fact that it gets hardly any press coverage. Is the mainstream media THAT biased against this administration that they can't exercise a bit of objectivity? Can't they put their opinions and feelings aside long enough to do their jobs - REPORTING on current events? Is it that painful for them to report anything that might be viewed as a success for the Bush administration?

If you don't believe me that the media is a bit biased, think about this for a minute. For MONTHS, they ran non-stop stories about the U.S. "torturing" prisoners at Abu Graib. And when I say "torturing", I really mean "embarrassing". (OH MY GOODNESS, THEY'RE POINTING AT HIS WEENER!!) Talk to some WWII or Viet Nam P.O.W.'s and ask where they'd rather be detained - at Abu Graib under U.S. control or in a bamboo cage in Hanoi or some other horrible place. They can tell you what REAL torture is all about. What those moron soldiers were doing in Abu Graib wasn't torture.

Yet, the media bent over backwards to demonize the United States and Gee-Dub Shrubby in front of the world. To them, that was news that the world couldn't live without. The world needed to hear about this during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-stop news coverage on the scandal was essential. Anything to make the U.S. look bad.

Now that a truly newsworthy event has happened, their vigor has noticably waned. A brief story on it here or there and then they move on to things like: "Story of secret NSA powers prompts Bush defense". Back to trying to make the President of the United States look bad. That is what their real focus is. It's not impartiality or reporting the news. If you think the NSA, CIA, FBI, etc. don't do "spy-like" things...then you're VERY naive. That is WHAT THEY DO. That is their entire purpose in life. Get over it. And besides that, G.W. Bush didn't create the damn NSA. It's been around for a LONG time.

Anyway...I just wanted to say how impressed I am with the turnout of the Iraqis during this historic election. I'm even more impressed with our soldiers who are deployed overseas (and all veterans who have ever served). We are all in their debt for their sacrifice.