Iraq vote/Vietnam vote déja vu

So Bush and the neocons are "encouraged" by the "72 percent" voter turnout in Iraq (in reality probably much lower than 72 percent, but we won't quibble). A NY Times article shows that something eerily similar happened with Vietnam 38 years ago. See for yourself:

"U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote; Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror

"by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times

"WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (1967)-- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

"According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

"....A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam. The election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in January, 1966, to which President Johnson gave his personal commitment when he met Premier Ky and General Thieu, the chief of state, in Honolulu in February.

"The purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy to the Saigon Government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since November, 1963, when President Ngo Dinh Deim was overthrown by a military junta."

(Thanks to Tom Tomorrow, http://www.thismodernworld.com/)