I'd forgotten about another gem from last night's Special Report with Brit Hume, something that hit me as I arrived home from work today. Brit ends every show with a humorous item, and last night's was a gag from Late Night with Conan O'Brien. A mock correspondent described Iraq's approaching elections. "Some 7,200 candidates are representing over 200 political parties," said the man, "and as you can see, things are really heating up" — at which point, the camera cut to an opinion-poll pie chart cut into about a hundred colored slices. The studio audience burst into laughter, as well they should have; the joke was good-natured and funny.
But it was also poignant. Two years ago, a pie chart representing reported Iraqi public opinion would have been a solid circle, a single color to denote Saddam Hussein.