Iraqis Taking to Democracy in a Big Way

The polls have closed in Iraq, but voting had to be extended for one hour due to huge turnout. Good for the Iraqis!

The Iraqi election commission extended voting by one more hour because of high turnout in the country's historic parliamentary elections Thursday.

And to the surprise of coalition forces, violence in Iraq was much lighter than expected and the smattering of attacks didn't appear to discourage Iraqis, some of whom turned out wrapped in their country's flag on a bright, sunny day and afterward displayed a purple ink-stained index finger — a mark to guard against multiple voting.

If all goes well, U.S. officials hope the vote will set the stage for a troop reduction in that country.

Let's hope the fraud is at a minimum (at least less than what Democrats consider acceptable) and the results will get the country's government off and running.

UPDATE: Here's the turnout projection-

Turnout in what was a mostly peaceful election was overwhelming. Election officials estimated up to 11 million of the nation's 15 million registered voters participated in Thursday's vote, which would put overall turnout at more than 70 percent.