Actually, the NY Times is being surprisingly upbeat.
Headline:
"Amid Attacks, a Party Atmosphere on Baghdad's Closed Streets"
Who'd a thunk it?
But it the insurgents wanted to stop people in Baghdad from voting, they failed. If they wanted to cause chaos, they failed. The voters were completely defiant, and there was a feeling that the people of Baghdad, showing a new, positive attitude, had turned a corner.
and this is the NY Times, same article