the iranian election

There are two interpretations of Ahmadi-Nejad's "surprising" landslide victory: (1) he cheated, (2) Western reporters have, a la Tien An Men Square, been talking too much to urban liberals and not enough to rural conservatives to know what's actually happening. Early indications suggest an element of both. Either way, it is a major setback for Obama's process of engagement with Teheran, which looks increasingly like a one way street, and not in our direction.