Boosting Democracy, On Purpose or Not

Democracy in Iraq owes much to the determined efforts of President Bush in 2005. So do democracy and constitutional order in the United States, if in a different way.

Iraq's three successful elections galvanized Bush into showing leadership and, at long last, some modest accountability for his administration's missteps there. His year-ending speeches on Iraq -- capped by Sunday's effective televised address to the nation -- suggest that contrition is good for the soul and perhaps for the polls.

Boosting Democracy, Inadvertently � Jim Hoagland | Except for Iraq's elections and its constitutional referendum, this has been a lost year for Bush. The president flailed, stumbled or simply disappeared when the going got tough at home. Editorial: Iraq's Election Result Mitchell: A Flat-Out Winner for Tax Reform Froomkin: Return of the 'I-Word' OPINIONS SECTION: Froomkin, Toles, More Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. Blog Page TurcoPundit Full List of Blogs (2 links) � Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web