Getting Out the Vote

There'll be big doings in Iraq on Saturday. It will be the day of election eve and Iraqis are now scrambling for the supplies they need to get through a three day shut down of the entire country.

Then, on Sunday it's game time, the big show, the whole enchilada, the last mile... a walk on the wild side.

Did you hear Steve Harrigan (search) on "FOX & Friends" this morning? Harrigan knows what he's talking about. He spent a lot of time in Iraq, riding around with Iraqi and American soldiers, getting knee deep in the firefights, dodging the insurgents and going places none of us would ever go.

Steve says he expects a bloodbath, quickly adding, "What do I know?"

Well, he knows what the insurgents want to do, that's for sure.

They want a bloodbath and they have said so. They said they want to wash the streets of Baghdad with blood of voters and nobody doubts they would if they could, or will if they can. But the American and Iraqi troops will be out, too, ready to shoot back.

So the Iraqi voter is faced with the daunting task of getting by the insurgents who want to kill them and somehow staying out of the line of fire of the Americans who will be trying to kill the insurgents.

As Harrigan said this morning, we're asking a lot of the Iraqi voter — being determined to vote could end up being a life and death decision.

Here in the U.S., we sit here all comfy deciding to vote, or not depending on matters of convenience and we think we're doing great if 50 percent of the voters show up. And yet we expect 80 percent of Iraqis to go out to vote, uncertain if they are going to be shot, beheaded, blown apart, splattered with someone's blood, or maybe — just maybe — get home safely.

So, while we expect Iraqis to come out and vote — and they probably will — I think we should also give them enormous respect for doing so under such incredibly hostile conditions. And don't be too harsh if a lot of them decide to stay home, live and — hopefully — vote another day.

That's My Word.

Watch John Gibson weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on "The Big Story" and send your comments to: myword@foxnews.com