Good Morning, VietNam

[tw]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

I'm still trying to figure out how a decision based on less than a 1 in 3 vote can be considered a mandate.

Same may be a problem in Iraq. The insurgents and Sunni clerics are saying not to vote. Just recently, the Iraqi tribal leaders also told their people not to vote. How can an election where most voters don't vote be considered a mandate? Voting probably will not happen in 4 of Iraq's 18 proviences. But these 4 proviences are a substantial minority of Iraq's people. The White House forgets to mention that part.

Again how does that election become a mandate for a new Iraqi government? Interesting to see how this all plays out in two weeks.

That is suppose to be a government for 11 months. This temporary government is suppose to write the Constitution. How do they have a mandate when the majority of Iraqis don't even vote for that government?

[xoxoxoBruce]

1 Iraqui voter + US Marines = mandate.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by tw

Same may be a problem in Iraq. The insurgents and Sunni clerics are saying not to vote. Just recently, the Iraqi tribal leaders also told their people not to vote. How can an election where most voters don't vote be considered a mandate? Voting probably will not happen in 4 of Iraq's 18 proviences. But these 4 proviences are a substantial minority of Iraq's people. The White House forgets to mention that part.

Again how does that election become a mandate for a new Iraqi government? Interesting to see how this all plays out in two weeks.

That is suppose to be a government for 11 months. This temporary government is suppose to write the Constitution. How do they have a mandate when the majority of Iraqis don't even vote for that government?

Well, the new spin is this -

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Unable to deliver on its lofty goal of bringing democracy to Iraq (news - web sites) through the Jan. 30 elections, the Bush administration is pressing a damage-control campaign to lower expectations for the vote.

With fears for a low voter turnout among Sunni Arabs due to a boycott and insurgents' intimidation, the administration no longer touts the elections as a catalyst to spread democracy across the Arab world.

Instead, U.S. officials now emphasize the political process that will follow the vote.

"Clearly, we don't see the election itself as a pivotal point," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told NPR on Friday. "It's the beginning of a process, the process where Iraqis will write a constitution and at the end of the year will actually vote for a permanent government."

Let's see, the plan went from a quick victory, welcomed by cheering Iraqis who quickly establish a democracy during a small occupation by 50,000 or so troops by voting in a US-friendly government, paying for their own reconstruction with oil-revenues from a rebuilt infrastructure which also brings down US energy prices - to this. I can't wait to see how many commentators they're going to have to buy to sell this load of manure.