8,000,000:35

That's the ration of Iraqis who have voted to those who sacrificed their lives on the altar of democracy. If you want killer Iraq-Vote blogging, visit InstaPundit (if you haven't already; if you have already, hey, visit again!), for a bevy of links and data.

The last time I was this excited about one day in history was 9 November 1989--when the Berlin Wall fell. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I got the news. (I got detention for running up and down my high school halls screaming "The Wall is down! Reagan won! Democracy rules!" No, Barbara Boxer was not the principal.) I had the feeling at the time that the world was changing, shifting right in front of my eyes, and for the better at that. I remember thinking that this simply must be the most incredible time to be alive, to witness first hand millions of people taking control over their own lives and lighting yet one more beacon of freedom (I wrote a lot of poetry in the twelfth grade, so I was given to blustery thoughts like that.) Funny, though: Fifteen years later, that's pretty much how I feel today.