New essay at Reason Online...

In her latest column, my new favorite pundit Maggie Gallagher considers the Iraqi elections: "Yes, Iraqi democracy is just a baby. Yes, so many questions remain unanswered that we (and they) will have to return to shortly, including how and when the new Iraqi nation will be strong enough to defend itself so our boys can come home. Let us seize this moment to celebrate with Iraqis their achievement: 'People have been thirsting for these elections, as if it was a wedding,' Akil Muslim told The New York Times."

So our boys can come home?

Hey, Maggie, there are thousands of American women serving in Iraq too -- what about them?

And: Iraq democracy is a baby? The elections were a wedding? Presumably that would make the U.S. military the father/husband, and you know what Ms. Gallagher thinks of divorce and absentee dads. I guess she wants us to be there a long, long. long time.

From Howard Kurtz' initial article on Maggie Gallagher: "Gallagher received an additional $20,000 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003 for writing a report, titled "Can Government Strengthen Marriage?", for a private organization called the National Fatherhood Initiative. That report, published last year, was funded by a Justice Department grant, said NFI spokesman Vincent DiCaro. Gallagher said she was 'aware vaguely' that her work was federally funded."

From the first sentence of an email Maggie Gallagher sent while researching that report: "I am doing a government funded survey of research on success (and failure) of marriage and divorce intervention programs..."