There will always be those so blinded by their partisanship, that they will never allow any progress to affect their notion of how things are.

However, in the wake of Sunday's elections in Iraq, there are some who stood against the war that are rethinking their stance in light of what they witnessed. Two great examples of this are columnist Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times, and blogger Jeff Simmermon.

I never expected those on the left to come over to my side because of the elections. (To be honest, I don't want people that wishy-washy on my side.) What I do expect is for them to consider the visuals we all saw displayed on television and the internet and attempt to reconcile their world view with this view of the world. I applaud Mark and Jeff for their intellectual honesty in noting that the images from Sunday were far different than they ever expected.

Meanwhile, others continue to ignore or justify away the amazing reality of Sunday in Iraq. My favorite 'argument' against the election is that it doesn't count because some Iraqis did not cast ballots. Brian Wise does a marvelous job dissecting this empty logic:

The underlying point of Sunday’s election was that Iraqis were free to choose not only which ticket to vote for, but whether to vote at all. Those who didn’t vote exercised the same right as those who did, and good for them. Deciding in favor of inaction is still a choice, which is much better than Saddam’s old electoral landslides, where participation wasn’t so much optional as compulsory.

If you are opposed to our action in Iraq, I can respect that position and don't believe that Sunday invalidates it. What I cannot respect is a refusal to acknowledge that the election was a positive step forward for the people in Iraq. I honestly believe that seeing the quality of life for those within Iraq improve is a goal that both sides share.