some i love are bitterly disappointed

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... and I have been trying mightily to understand the context for the Iranian elections, trying to drop all my own feelings and get a sense for how it must be in Iran. I do not think that this huge victory for Ahmadinejad is necessarily the election fraud claimed by Mousavi supporters, but also would not be at all surprised if was indeed election fraud. Listening closely to a bunch of al Jazeera reports late last night and today, I get the distinct impression that Mousavi was really perceived by many of his supporters as merely the lesser of two evils... something entirely familiar to me. I gather from some of the exchanges between pundits and anchorpersons that Mousavi was not the model of support for fair elections when he was prime minister. I also have heard a great deal of fairly convincing talk about how Ahmadinejad may have won back support by reminding everyone somehow during the debates, in which it is reported that he was eloquent where the others were not, of having protected Iran from certain perfidies committed by the West. Anyway, I do not find it so shocking that Mousavi's expat, youth and Tehranian supporters may have been outvoted by their less Westernized brothers and sisters across Iran.

I'm troubled by the repeated mention of Mousavi's less-antagonistic-toward-Israel rhetoric as a reason for the fervent support. If true, it is a cruel delusion to think changing the front man for the ayatollahs would have any effect whatsoever on how things shake out in the current antagonisms. I know also that there is a great longing among the women and youth of Iran for a relaxation of strictures in dress and gender equality, that they want to feel more in step with the sophistication of the rest of the world, but, again, while I particularly identify with the desires of Iran's women to be shut of these stupid rules and taboos, it is also a cruel delusion that Mousavi could have brought the change they desire.

My understanding of the post of "president" in Iran is that he is to handle administrative matters and public appearances the ayatollahs have no wish to fool around with, but that he can do nothing nor say anything without their approval, which makes him more Minister of Tedious Stuff than president. Even if he has the impulse to oblige his followers in their hopes, he cannot deliver on them. I actually think that Ahmadinejad is better for the job since he more closely reflects the ayatollahs' rule in word and deed. I actually think if there really was a Mousavi victory in this election it means more that the ayatollahs should be pushed out of power than that Mousavi should be president.

This is a very, very problematic subject. It seems that even Iranians need reminding that the Iranian president isn't a president in the usual understanding of that term. It seems sort of cruel to get everyone all worked up to vote when they are only voting for a Minister of Tedious Stuff and the ayatollahs will only let win who they want to win after all. The election results can be whatever they are, and still they are not official until the ayatollahs say they are official and should be respected.

Iran is a theocracy. Not a democratic republic. Not even a democratic theocracy. The clerics' word is law.

The good of the huge display of support for Mousavi can only be that it has shown them how the population, or a good portion of it, feels. It should instruct them on how they should proceed, and if they don't make the necessary adjustments to try to please the people, they will have to become more oppressive to hold down dissent... if they can....

I'd like to remind everyone that Iran is the only country on the face of the earth that has stood behind the freedom fighters in Palestine and Lebanon. No matter what would have ever come out of Mousavi's mouth, that would not have changed, and he would very swiftly have been vilified and made to seem as reprehensible as Israel and America have made Ahmadinejad look over the past four years. There can be, outright, NO question of that. While I have seen that there is a great deal of solidarity within the Iranian population with the release from suffering at the hands of Israel, I have also heard some Iranians griping that they wish their government would just back off and attend more to domestic issues. This really puts me in a bind because I so greatly admire the Iranian government's stance on the liberation of Palestinians and Lebanese from Israeli tyranny, but I also feel any government should be listening to and obliging its people to the greatest extent possible.

I'm outraged that American liberals claimed the Lebanese election result as a victory brought about by the power of President Go Fuck Yourself's address in Cairo, and am vastly relieved they can't claim that shit in this case at least. [Except, it seems, that there REALLY is no winning for losing with these fucks....]

I'm wondering how many people here are feeling sorry for the Iranians being squelched this way by their power elite, while we are being squelched by our power elite identically. Yes, it does NOT matter even if the president is the president in the ordinary sense of the word "president" if that president is being forced by the power elite to ignore the will of the people. Our president is ignoring ours as surely and as thoroughly as Iran's is, and it actually seems to me that Iran's president, and perhaps his masters, really do care more for the welfare of their people than ours do. That isn't saying much. That may be close to not saying anything at all, but it's really time you let it sink in.

It's also comforting to find Russian state media very respectfully reporting this election result. It means to me that they still have Iran's back, and that is very possibly literally of planet-saving significance. I mean, truly, do try not to confuse the issue. Israel and its allies are the aggressors, the ones threatening egregious harm... nukes, air strikes, military intervention.... Ahmadinejad did not pick this fight. Nor did the ayatollahs. ISRAEL did. WE did.

They have resisted brilliantly and kept their people safe against tremendous odds. It actually could be that they really won, or, anyway, I can find it plausible that they really won... even if there isn't any way to tell for sure.

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Even if you tend to believe obviously biased Western media reports, I submit one should try to look for what wisdom there may have been in the cheating, OR delight the imperialists and bring about regime change in Iran. IS Mir-Hossein Mousavi the man for this job? From everything I have heard, he absolutely is not. As for myself, I am going to hope that the people get behind someone truly fit to lead them if they want to throw off the yoke of this theocracy. It has to be someone who can ally seamlessly with Russia and/or China, or it will be Western corporations that reap all the benefits of Iran's resources, NOT the Iranian people, AND Lebanon and Palestine will be left without what support Iran has been able to provide for them.