For Sgt. Matthew Villalpando, Tuesday wasn't so Super in Baghdad. The California native has to be at the International Zone's Checkpoint Two by 6 a.m. every day for work, so when the results of the primaries started rolling in late Tuesday night, he was sound asleep in bed with his alarm set for 4 a.m. He didn't even have time to check on what had happened before heading out the door Wednesday morning.

Like Villalpando, most troops were too busy--or tired--to stay up to watch Super Tuesday's results as they unfolded back home. Few had the time to vote themselves, saying that, given their busy schedules, it was not a priority. While the Iraq war provides unprecedented means for soldiers to follow events back home--satellite television, cellular telephones, Internet and daily deliveries of the Stars and Stripes newspaper--there are still pockets that are out of touch. In a new base set up two weeks ago in an abandoned house in the Arab Jabour area, less than 100 soldiers live without any hook-up to the civilian world--they only have one room with electricity so far. Not only did most not know Super Tuesday was held yesterday, many still did not know the outcome of the Super Bowl.

Soldiers abroad vote by absentee ballot, which they can request over the Internet from their home states. Voting Assistance Officers at the U.S. Embassy can also help, but some still say the process should be made simpler.

Yet even for those who did not vote in their states' primaries, there is a strong feeling that the next American president could have a direct impact on their lives. Sgt. Villalpando is leaning toward supporting Sen. Barack Obama. "He displays confidence, good character and the backbone to bring this war in Iraq to an end," he says. "It's time to cut our losses."

"We're waiting for someone to come along who is going to step up and let us know when we can get out of here," says Sgt. Jeff Foster from South Carolina. He says most of his unit feels the same: "they are looking for someone who will bring us home." Foster thinks that person is Hillary Clinton, who has promised to start pulling out troops within her first 60 days in office.

Others plan to vote for the candidate who will stay the course. Specialist John Goodall, who describes himself as pro-military and pro-life, says he plans to vote for Republican candidate Mitt Romney because of his support for the Iraq war and the soldiers fighting it. Romney is against a quick withdrawal from Iraq and advocates strengthening the military by increasing its size by 100,000 troops. "It's important to me that people in Washington understand that you can't pull us out too soon and expect everything to be hunky dory," Goodall says. "You have to let us do our job and finish it."

One soldier, who did not feel comfortable giving his name, was shocked to hear how much money the candidates were raising--and spending--compared with how much soldiers get paid. (Obama raised $32 million in the month of January alone.) The 45-year-old from Indiana is currently undecided but says Iraq is the most important issue for him. "I don't believe either side has given a real stance on the war. They've all changed their positions," he says laughing, "but they're all about change."

Elsewhere in Baghdad, Iraqis seemed unaware that Tuesday was a critical day for American politics. Some voiced conspiracy theories that involved Israel rather than the American people getting to choose the next U.S. president. Others suggested that Iranians should be much more interested in U.S. elections than Iraqis. But most simply didn't care. "[Iraqis] do not want to know anything about the elections, whether Mrs. Clinton will win or Mr. Oklahama or Obama will win," says 33-year-old Mustafa al-Ebadi. But since both Clinton and Obama plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq if elected, Iraqis like Ebadi might indeed soon want to start paying attention.

With Hussam Ali in Baghdad and Larry Kaplow