As night falls in Iraq, we must take in what is truly an amazing site. Despite all of threats by terrorists, Arab leaders calling the the elections fraudulent and U.S. congressmen slamming the Iraqi elections at every chance they get, the Iraq people stood tall, proud and defiant to let their voices be heard.

Officials said turnout among the 14 million eligible voters appeared higher than the 57 percent that had been predicted, although it would be some time before any turnout figure was confirmed. No preliminary results were expected before Monday at the earliest, and final results will not be known for seven to 10 days, the election commission said.

Fox News is estimating the turn-out at 60 percent which falls in line with the Washington Times’ estimate. Coincidentally, the turnout here in the United States for 2004 is estimated at 60 percent as well. The Iraqi people however faced threats on their lives, lack of quality education about the process and even certain groups boycotting the election and they still turned out in large numbers.

President Bush called the vote a great success and said “the world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East.” These voices in Iraq quieted those who are both trying to keep Iraq under dictatorship or a radical Islamic rule. As estimated 30 people were killed throughout Iraq in various instances of violence, however in a country with close to 14 million eligible voters 30 people is an extremely small number with the terrorist groups declaring they will stop the election at all costs. The election was a great success for freedom, a defeat of terrorism and terrorist ideals and a success for every single Iraqi.

The process of Democratization is not over though. This election was for a national assembly to construct the new Iraqi constitution which will lead to the path of a full-fledged Democracy. Violence will not stop and the will of the Iraqis must continue to be strong. An interesting developement will be where do the terrorists move their next target.

After Baghdad fell, terrorists targeted Coallition soldiers. As time went on, they started targeting Iraqi people to create instability. The closer to the election we got terrorists targeted anyone who has anything to do with Democracy in Iraq. Since the election is over, do the terrorists go back to targeting the Coallition soldiers or do they continue to target Iraqis?

There will be several naysayers of this election in Iraq, and sadly many of these will be U.S. Congressmen. I’ve grown used to hearing from world-leaders who will defame anything tied to the United States or Democracy, but it really gets me when U.S. Congressmen play partisan politics with Iraqi’s freedoms.

I’ve heard and seen a brief excerpt of Meet the Press which featured a full-hour interview with Senator John Kerry. From the clips I saw, Kerry doesn’t seem to realize the 2004 U.S. election is over and is still crying over the war in Iraq. This shouldn’t shock me, but it does. Check your local listings because Meet the Press will be replayed for those that missed it.

My question for Democratic Congressmen and Democrats who want to slam the Bush Administration for anything, will you stop with your partisan BS for just one week and praise the elections in Iraq? The Democratic Party used to be the party of humanitarian goals. Is there any better humanitarian goal than bringing freedom to millions? For the sake of every single Iraqi who danced in the streets, sang and had a 24-hour smile after voting, I hope they will.

Update:
MSNBC has posted the transcript of John Kerry’s appearance on Meet the Press (via Power Line). The Big Trunk decides to focus on other talk other than the Iraqi election in his post, however read the transcript and take a gander at a failed man leading failed charges.

The Associated Press has published several different quotes coming from world-leaders and others with various views on the election. Each are powerful, however I’ll include one from John Kerry and then two from Iraqis.

“It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can’t vote and doesn’t vote,” Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

“This is democracy. This is the first day I feel freedom,” Fathiya Mohammed, an elderly woman who voted in the small town of Askan south of Baghdad.

“This is a chance for you as Iraqis to assure your and your children’s future,” Gov. Hamad Hmoud Shagti, of the mostly Sunni province of Salaheddin.

As you can see, there’s a bit of a difference in tones. One is more than pessimistic even though he ran on a campaign calling himself an optimist and the other two are truly the voices of freedom.

There has been one prominent Lefty blogger who naturally derides the election in Iraq. Again, no shock but still equally disturbing. Jeff Goldstein rightly compares Oliver with for the Iraqi minister of Information. Some on the Left never cease to amaze me.

Update:
Forty-four total people were killed in violence on election day, though nine were the suicide bombers. Slowplay had tracked members of the MSM and shows only half disclose that nine were homicidal maniacs with explosives attached to their bodies. Nice work.