U.S. Lowers Expectations for Once-Heralded Iraq Vote

With fears for a low voter turnout among Sunni Arabs due to a boycott and insurgents' intimidation, the administration no longer touts the elections as a catalyst to spread democracy across the Arab world.

Instead, U.S. officials now emphasize the political process that will follow the vote.

"Clearly, we don't see the election itself as a pivotal point," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told NPR on Friday. "It's the beginning of a process, the process where Iraqis will write a constitution and at the end of the year will actually vote for a permanent government."

I'm not sure which is sadder -- the fact that the Administration treats us like greyhounds, expecting us to keep eagerly following their mechanical rabbits toward a finish line that never comes, or that it works.