A Continually Updated Sampling of the Media Babbling You'll Be Hearing Until the Conclusion of the Something-Called-an-Election in Iraq

UPDATE #1

Scarborough Country (MSNBC)

SCARBOROUGH: Kellyanne, I‘ll give you the last 15 seconds. Go, Kellyanne [what are your predictions for the Iraq elections].
CONWAY: Turnout is going to be robust enough. And welcome to democracy. If the Iraqis can‘t name -- 40 percent of them say they don‘t know what they‘re voting on, look, 54 percent of Americans can‘t name a single Supreme Court justice. And the majority of people don‘t know their two United States senators. So it sounds like the Iraqis are fully on their way to being a democratic and free country.
***

Election Expectations (Fox News)

Brit Hume and Dan Senor, former adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and currently a Fox News contributor.

BRIT HUME, HOST: You might even say that the Iraqi election has already passed one test of its legitimacy, in the sense that the U.S. media are already getting involved in the expectations game that are always played during the political season here. Here, of course, the expectations about the size of the turnout.
##
SENOR: Exactly. And the Sunnis are in those key provinces, that are a security concern, can vote anywhere. So in other words, if you live in Fallujah, and you want to vote but you’re nervous about the safety of voting in Fallujah, you can go to another part, another province, another city and vote. So they are taking steps.
HUME: Better leave now, though.
(LAUGHTER)
***

Talking Points: The Iraqi Elections and Your Family
Bill O'Reilly (Fox News)

The election in Iraq and your family, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

Sunday's vote is a defining moment for America. If the Iraqi people step up and embrace the chance to vanquish terror, the world will be much safer. If they do not, the war on terror will get worse….

We are fighting for our lives in Iraq. And most Americans don't even know it. The election on Sunday is vital to our safety. I will say it again. If Syria, Iraq and Iran are allowed to support and protect terrorists, there will be a world war in the future that will dwarf anything this planet has ever seen.
***

MSNBC: So, in summary, what are the most important things to watch for on Sunday?

CAMPBELL BROWN: The election workers showing up and being a lynchpin for what happens. And the level of participation and the level of violence are essentially the other factors that will determine whether or not the election is a success. (link)
***
MSNBC: Tim, the Iraqi government says it has arrested two close associates of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. One of the people in custody is said to be the chief of al-Zarqawi’s Baghdad operation. Would it be nice if this announcement, just two days before the historic elections that al-Zarqawi has declared war on, gave more Iraqis confidence to vote on Sunday?

TIM RUSSERT: It sure would...
***
Of Bombs, Bullets and Ballots
Oliver North (Town Hall)

Though the final tally won't be known for days, Sunday's election is already a success -- a "grand moment in Iraqi history," as the president predicted in his news conference on Wednesday. It is a remarkable accomplishment….
***