Here’s Hoping This Election Comes Through

Optimism isn’t in great supply for this Zimbabwean election, because even though the opposition party has apparently defeated the 28-year incumbent Mugabe, I don’t see him giving in to any concept of fairness when he could simply rig the vote on a massive scale. Already the vote results are being delayed, so there’s that. And as for democratic leverage, what is the West going to do, devalue the currency?

Still, I’m a sliver hopeful that the Zimbabwean Howard Beale vote will prove powerful enough to triumph this time, giving such a strong “F this” vote that it’s too embarrassing even for Mugabe to rig things. The country has a deep pit to climb out of, but dropping the shovel is a good start.