When you erect the goalposts just beyond the line of scrimmage and make them 500-bodies wide, it’s hard not to kick the ball of ridiculously low expectations through. Yes, it’s great that Iraq’s elections turned out less bloody than even the warbots anticipated, but they would have called it a success no matter what. The Glenn Reynoldses and Victor Davis Hansons recognize no falsifiability "metric" for their position, anyway. But the questions for everyone else are as follows: Will the election be a success no matter what comes of it? No matter who wins? Even if the hundreds of newly elected officials become unwilling participants in an assassination sweepstakes?
Simply holding an election in which "only" 40 or so people die is "success"? If you say so. But could we please maintain this standard for the Ukrainians (oops, too late), the Russians, and – for God’s sake – the Iranians???