Reply #6: Remember this exchange?

[ProSense]

This is from the transcript TayTay posted at link below.

As I said, elections don't mean democracy, but I've never seen one begin without an election.

KERRY: Well, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comment. Actually, the American democracy began with a revolution, not an election.

RICE: Yes, they had an election fairly soon afterward, I believe, Senator, and that's when democracy really began.

KERRY: And with respect to Iraq, I mean, ultimately we had a Civil War to resolve the issue of slavery, and there are many people who argue that Iraq is already in a low-intensity civil war. And if you don't resolve the differences in this constitution, it will get worse.

So my point, Mr. Chairman, is simply that there are a lot of players over there and a lot of others, who do not see the pieces of the political -- can we get there? I believe we can. I think Senator Biden, as a lot of us have felt -- and we've stuck with this concept that success is critical and there's a way to get there.

(UNKNOWN): I think we're getting beyond it.

KERRY: But there are a lot of people who feel that opportunity after opportunity to realistically deal with that is just being obliterated and ignored.

RICE: Senator, I would just urge a little patience with the Iraqis. That was my point about the American democracy is it took us a while to work some of these issues out. I don't think the Iraqis are headed, tumbling toward civil war. I...

KERRY: So a little patience. The American people have already sustained a war that has gone on longer than World War II, longer than it took us to beat the Axis powers and have invested in ultimately what will be up to $300 billion and some say half a trillion dollars for their defense. That's pretty patient.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=71421&mesg_id=71499