State of their nation: Day 3

State of their nation: Day 3

By David Mac Dougall, Baghdad Bureau

This coming Saturday, Iraqis go to the polls. They’re choosing regional representatives in 14 out of Iraq’s 18 provinces. There’s little doubt that Iraqis are embracing democracy – the numbers speak for themselves: more than 14,000 candidates vying for just 444 council seats.

Each day this week we’re asking Iraqis what they think about a range of issues.

With the new US administration little more than a week old, we went out on the streets to talk with Iraqis about their expectations of President Obama. We also found Iraqis had a lot to say about President Bush’s legacy: most people seemed bitter about the US-lead invasion, most had harsh words to say about President Bush and most had low expectations for the new administration.

Sometimes, what Iraqis have to say can be difficult to hear – they don’t pull their punches. Of course we can’t ask the opinions of every Iraqi in the country. When preparing these videos, our camera crew goes to a part of the city where different religious groups mix – we don’t just go to a Sunni or Shiia part of Baghdad – so I’m confident we got a fairly representative sample of opinions from the Iraqi capital. Outside the capital, people might say different things. In Kurdistan for example you’re more like to have people talking with warmth and gratitude about former President Bush. In the south of the country, the responses from people on the street might be more extreme in the other direction. Here in Baghdad, we’re trying to bring you the middle ground.

Do you agree or disagree with what these Iraqis have to say? Leave a message, we’d like to hear your comments!

Plus — Watch an hour of news, opinion & debate LIVE from Baghdad on Friday, 10am EST at www.foxnews.com/strategyroom!