Democracy's maxim

From The New York Times:

"There is no single factor that explains why the Sunni Arabs, about 20 percent of Iraq's 28 million people, failed to show up for the election. Some were scared, either of general violence or retaliation. Some had little information. Others simply long for the old days of Mr. Hussein, and others like Mr. Ajili disliked their former leader but hate the Americans much more intensely. Still others believed that they were following the vague directives of their political and religious leaders."

This lesson is played out in every U.S. election, from the presidency down to the school committee: get out the vote. The other groups in Iraq understood this message clearly and seized the opportunity to gain influence. The Sunnis, for a variety of reasons described in the Times article, did not. And they lost out.