'This time, the large Sunni turnout': The best news about the Iraq elections: The Sunni voted. They might have just proved they're not the Palestinians of Iraq, i.e. always managing to find a way to make life more difficult for themselves. ... Some interesting lines in John Burns' excellent report. The first from a tribal sheik on democracy: "Saddam was a thief, but now we'll have 275 thieves." Do you think there's a remote chance he once visited Massachusetts? ... Another involving a Sunni interviewed by Burns: "'Let's have stability, and then the Americans can go home,' said Mr. Sattar, the store owner. Told that this sounded similar to President Bush's formula for a troop withdrawal, he replied: 'Then Bush has said it correctly.'" ...

Of course, discussion of a complicated issue like pulling out of Iraq wouldn't be right without Mickey reducing it down to the bare essentials: "The important thing now, I think, is to be of two minds: Punish Bush for his miscalculations in one part of our minds, but not let that desire for accountability -- i.e., the palpable urge to see him humiliated among Democrats and even some anti-war Republican Scowcroftians -- prevent us (by prompting a premature troop withdrawal) from making the democracy vs. blowback calculus work as favorably as possible."  ¶ 6:08 AM