The Importance of Being Earnest ... in the Iraqi Elections!

Actually, the TV commercials produced by candidates for the Iraqi elections, described in this piece from the LA Times, sound much more respectable than the muckraking hyperbolic fare that has become standard in the West. Polls suggest that the turnout for the elections will be substantial, despite ongoing violence. News like this underscores the vigour of electioneering in Iraq and demonstrates the emptiness of protests about 'foisting democracy on people unprepared for it'. Unsurprisingly, yearning for fairness and freedom are not perogatives of an 'enlightened west'.