NEWS AND VIEWS

Democracy is messy. Negotiating a compromise takes more time than announcing a diktat. These are lessons slowly being learned in Iraq. With the selection of a new Speaker for their Parliament, the squabbling leaders of that nascent democracy have taken a first step that will certainly lead to the other positions being filled and a government being formed.

Will the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon really happen? If so, can the people of that civil war-torn nation find a way to peacefully resolve their differences? Would any of this be happening without the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003? Only the last question can be answered definitively.

The border vigilantes seem to be on their best behavior, so far. If this continues, will their critics stop calling them vigilantes? Don't count on it.

Political junkies are still poring over the results of the 2004 election. This piece concludes that the prospects for the GOP look even better than most people think.