October 09, 2004
Look who got to vote today
Just watched a sour-faced John Simpson do his best to convince the BBC audience that the elections in Afghanistan today were less than valid. He did mention that the Taliban had not hampered voting as threatened. (Well, that's nice of them, isn't it?) Then, talked about vote boycotting by some of the candidates. (A rather self-defeating strategy...Stop voting! / Oops! Now I really can't win.) And he went on and on and on about ink on fingers...oh, whatever.
Finally, he asked the women in the photo here if the fact that the wrong ink might have been used in some parts of Afghanistan had taken the glow off their first ever vote - they immediately answered 'No! No!'. (That was a no-brainer, John, really.)
Good try, Simpson. How could you not find any enthusiasm and joy for the Afghan men and women apparently enjoying a taste of new-found freedom? How?
Come to the States for 2 November, Johnny. You'll have to modify your spiel, of course, instead of 'ink', insert something about 'chads', but you can keep the gloomy, oh-so-disappointed look on your face when you talk about W's win.
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Posted by Valerie at October 9, 2004 09:50 PMFox has run comments from voters a few times today. A very emotional young guy explained how it felt that "we are selecting a president with our own hands". A young woman talked more about other changes, how "we can go where we want, talk to anyone we want, and not have to worry about it". It's gotten good coverage, but I'd like to see more.
Posted by: Doug at October 10, 2004 12:35 AMTo Pat Tillman, and all the others who gave their lives in Afganistan, thank you for this day.
Posted by: Valerie, Texas at October 10, 2004 05:29 AM15 petulant losers - questioning the election results
Sounds like that have the makings of the Democrat party, if not democracy. Did you see that one in the second row third from the left?
Swear to God it's Al Gore!
great thoughts about Pat Valerie.
This defeatist mentality and shallow mindsets are bringing europe to it's knees, much more so than the jihad freaks from within.
Here is a polling station, sort of normal looking. http://instapundit.com/archives/018337.php
Here are some happy first time voters lined up to commemorate the occasion.
http://instapundit.com/archives/018331.php
Washington Post Sunday morning had as their headline bad news about the Afgan election.
Of course, can't report anything good because that would help Bush.
Posted by: andy at October 11, 2004 01:51 AMIt is sad, though, when partisan sentiment gets in the way of a little joy. If I were pro-sKerry, I'd still be pleased for these folks.
Sad.
Posted by: Valerie at October 11, 2004 02:08 AMElection day in Afghanistan, from Powerline.
Posted by: papertiger at October 11, 2004 04:00 AMSaw all the ballot boxes on TV last nite...It will take weeks to count all that!
May they enjoy every last one!
Makes you appreciate the election process, doesn't it.
Posted by: Valerie at October 11, 2004 10:27 AMOh, it appears in the papers today that the Afgan election concerns subside. Of course, we won't see banner headlines declaring this...
Posted by: andy at October 11, 2004 11:07 AMThanks Andy
That explains the strange empty spot on the front page of the Bee this morning.
I had it as news of the Australian elections. Silly me, that was yesterday's strange empty spot.
Posted by: papertiger at October 12, 2004 01:48 AM"In just three years, Afghanistan went from a nation that had never in its history allowed its people self-determination, to one in which -- despite the strictness of Islamic law that still dominates much of its people -- millions voted. The picture on the front page of Sunday's Washington Post said it all: a woman, garbed head to toe in a burqa, only her hands visible, pushing her paper ballot into a ballot box. According to one report, pollsters weren't able to get good exit polls because the Afghanis were reveling in their ability to keep their votes secret." --Jed Babbin
Posted by: papertiger at October 12, 2004 01:55 AMAccording to one report, pollsters weren't able to get good exit polls because the Afghanis were reveling in their ability to keep their votes secret.
That's great. Maybe Americans could do the same this time around... Keep the networks from announcing false results...
Posted by: Valerie at October 12, 2004 08:20 AMKeep the networks from announcing false results...
I'm afraid they would anyway.
"false results.."
More likely "wishful thinking" results.
Posted by: Valerie, Texas at October 12, 2004 11:52 AMThey're announcing that the Duelfer report declared the Iraq sanctions successful, and people can see that with their own eyes - they'll say what they like about elections.
Posted by: Doug at October 12, 2004 10:53 PM
