...but the what about the freedom fighters who are killing Iraqis in order to liberate them..??? Don't the Iraqi people know that this election is a joke according to liberals world-wide?
ABC News Assesses Where Things Stand in Iraq on Election's Eve
Perhaps the most remarkable finding is a positive one: Iraqis are hopeful and optimistic despite the profound difficulties they face in their daily lives. The surveys and the anecdotal interviews are filled with examples of people who told us, "We feel less safe," "We have less money," "We have less electricity," etc. and then closed by saying, "We believe our lives are getting better."
Optimists and pessimists alike seem to hold out hope for the elections. Nationwide, more than three-quarters of our respondents said (a) they plan to vote and (b) they believe in democracy. Jan. 30 is seen as a watershed even by those who say they intend to boycott the vote. One is certainly left with the impression that people will be less likely to tolerate problems after the election.
Optimism in the face of so many quality-of-life complaints is perhaps the most interesting finding in this report.
We checked our surveys against the most recent national poll conducted in Iraq and found similar sentiments. The International Republican Institute's November 2004 survey found a wave of specific complaints, and then asked a basic question: "Do you believe your life one year from today will be better or worse?" Sixty-six percent of Iraqis answered "better," and only 13 percent said worse.
This is consistent with the sentiments voiced by the 1,300 Iraqis we spoke to. Most said their lives were better today than before the war, and most thought they would be better still in a year's time.
Enthusiasm for the election appears overwhelming. In that same IRI poll, 83 percent said they intended to vote; in our survey more than three-quarters of the people we spoke to said they planned to go to the polls.
This enthusiasm represents a desire for change, the thrill of casting a meaningful ballot, and a conviction that sovereignty really will return to Iraqis once the votes have been cast.
Above all it is reflection of patriotism. Time and again we heard a simple yet profound comment, along the lines of this one, from an unemployed man in Al Muthene province: "My love of the country will push me to vote."
ABC News Assesses Where Things Stand in Iraq on Election's Eve
Perhaps the most remarkable finding is a positive one: Iraqis are hopeful and optimistic despite the profound difficulties they face in their daily lives. The surveys and the anecdotal interviews are filled with examples of people who told us, "We feel less safe," "We have less money," "We have less electricity," etc. and then closed by saying, "We believe our lives are getting better."
Optimists and pessimists alike seem to hold out hope for the elections. Nationwide, more than three-quarters of our respondents said (a) they plan to vote and (b) they believe in democracy. Jan. 30 is seen as a watershed even by those who say they intend to boycott the vote. One is certainly left with the impression that people will be less likely to tolerate problems after the election.
Optimism in the face of so many quality-of-life complaints is perhaps the most interesting finding in this report.
We checked our surveys against the most recent national poll conducted in Iraq and found similar sentiments. The International Republican Institute's November 2004 survey found a wave of specific complaints, and then asked a basic question: "Do you believe your life one year from today will be better or worse?" Sixty-six percent of Iraqis answered "better," and only 13 percent said worse.
This is consistent with the sentiments voiced by the 1,300 Iraqis we spoke to. Most said their lives were better today than before the war, and most thought they would be better still in a year's time.
Enthusiasm for the election appears overwhelming. In that same IRI poll, 83 percent said they intended to vote; in our survey more than three-quarters of the people we spoke to said they planned to go to the polls.
This enthusiasm represents a desire for change, the thrill of casting a meaningful ballot, and a conviction that sovereignty really will return to Iraqis once the votes have been cast.
Above all it is reflection of patriotism. Time and again we heard a simple yet profound comment, along the lines of this one, from an unemployed man in Al Muthene province: "My love of the country will push me to vote."
