Hopeful thinking from the Big Tent mailbox (Maple Leaf edition):

I agree that the election results from Spain were, at best, a disappointment, especially when the new PM-elect's first action is to announce Spanish withdrawal from Iraq. And I also agree with Steyn, Hanson, and the rest that the attacks had little directly to do with the wars in Iraq and on terrorism (The Daily Show traced the Islamist demands back through 2000 years of history to Romulus and Remus. It made as much sense as going back to the Reconquista). But I think, before we make too much of the connection between the attacks and the election, we have to remember that Aznar�s Popular Party was not that far ahead in the polls before Thursday (5-6%, with the normal +/-), so the Socialist�s victory was a major shift. It is possible to say that the results would have been similar even without the attacks. Hopefully the new PM will recognize that, and the Spanish will continue to be a contributing ally to the war on terrorism.