below the fold

I spent a busy day yesterday not watching the news. This morning, the Chronicle's headline read, "Big Turnout Buoys Hopes." President Bush says the vote shows his policies are paying off. Etc. "Wonder what's happening today," I think to myself and access cnn.com. "Historic," "Large turnout." Etc. Wonder what the rest of the world thinks. In an otherwise triumphant Australian article, I find this:

Polls were largely deserted all day in many cities of the Sunni Triangle north and west of the capital, particularly Fallujah, Ramadi and Beiji.

In Baghdad's mainly Sunni Arab area of Azamiyah, the neighborhood's four polling centers did not open at all, residents said.

A low Sunni turnout could undermine the new government that will emerge from the vote and worsen tensions among the country's ethnic, religious and cultural groups.

Wasn't the lack of Sunni arab cooperation the problem leading into the election? Is the fact that the Kurds and Shia went to the polls the least bit surprising? Does it tell us anything new about what's likely to happen next?