i'm sure it will get lost in the financial and election mania, but this is actually a pretty big deal. a national election law is one of the benchmarks for success of the surge and while this version falls short of being truly national (because of the kirkuk carve-out), it's still a real step. that is, assuming the bill isn't vetoed by any of the members of the presidential council (the last version of the bill was vetoed by president talabani).
the main holdup up until now has been the status of kirkuk. they got around it this time by excluding the city from the next election, and sending the matter to a special committee for further study (i.e. kicking the can down the road). if the bill becomes law, elections will be held in all of iraq, except kirkuk, which means that the current officials representing the city will stay in office even as everyone else has to face re-election. i believe those officials are mostly kurds (but i could be mistaken), which makes it more likely that talabani (himself a kurd) won't veto the legislation this time.
the bill also eliminates quotas for christians in the provincial councils, which the NYT reports is "stirring outrage" in the christian communities. but because none of the members of the presidential council are christian, i expect no one else will give a shit. i bet those christians are wishing they had gotten a christian seat on the presidential council!
