Voting for Irony

Irony. You know, when somebody uses words that mean one thing but what the person really means to say is something else entirely. Irony can be a highly effective way to point out differences between, say, official policy and reality. And sometimes irony can be very funny when used to express in an ingeniously humorous manner the relationship between seemingly incongruous or disparate things.



We already know from experience that George W. Bush has no sense of irony. He's far too serious for that. But who knew that Colin Powell has a marvelous sense of ironic wit? Look at these two stories from today:

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said that the voting in Ukraine's presidential election was riddled with fraud and that the United States could not accept a victory by Victor F. Yanukovich as legitimate, warning that there would be "serious consequences" to the American-Ukraine relationship if allegations of fraud were not cleared up. "We cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse," he said. "It is still not too late for Ukrainian authorities to find a solution that respects the will of the Ukrainian people."

That from the Secretary of State on the same day that the Government Accountability Office (You might remember the "GAO" by its old name, the "Government Accounting Office" which it was called until those ironic fellows in the Republican controlled House renamed it a couple of years ago.):

Congress' investigative agency, Government Accountability Office, responding to complaints from around the country, has begun an investigation of the Nov. 2 vote count. The probe will cover voter registration, voting machine problems and handling of provisional ballots, which were given to voters who said they were eligible to cast votes although their names were not on the rolls. The GAO usually begins investigations in response to specific requests from Congress, but the agency's head, Comptroller General David Walker, said the GAO acted on its own because of the many complaints it received about ballot counting. He noted, however, that the GAO noted cannot enforce the law if voting irregularities are found.

Now that's irony for you: "the GAO acted on its own because of the many comments it received about ballot counting ... the GAO cannot enforce the law if voting irregularities are found."



New York Times - Powell Says Ukraine Vote Was Full of Fraud



Star Tribune (MN) - GAO opens review of voting in response to complaints