Comments on: Obama is weighed and found wanting

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:25:43 +0000

Obama is weighed and found wanting… more money for his buddies, Book.

By: suek

suek — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:31:11 +0000

>>”The candidates, selected from more than 450 hopefuls, were approved after being screened for their allegiance to Iran’s Islamic government system and “absolute obedience” to the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”>>

Don’t you just love it? Somebody goofed.

As I understand it, the results of the voting – supposedly 85% of some 40 million people – were complete and counted within 2 hours after the polls closed. Think we in the USA could match that? Even with our technology?

So…._could_ have “fairly reflected”, yes. But I don’t think it did.

You know…I’m not sure, but I think the ayatollahs would have been better off just appointing Ajad to an extended term than promising an election and then just fluffing it. I think a lot of what we’re seeing is just plain frustration. I learned with my kids – you don’t make promises you can’t deliver on.

By: BrianE

BrianE — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:28:22 +0000

“If they’re fixed, they’re not fair.”
All candidates on the ballot had to be approved by Kamenhei.

The three candidates approved by the Guardians Council [to run against Amandinejab] are former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and the former head of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai, an interior ministry statement said.

The candidates, selected from more than 450 hopefuls, were approved after being screened for their allegiance to Iran’s Islamic government system and “absolute obedience” to the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Forty-two of the hopefuls were women but none passed the test to stand in the election.

They were fixed in that respect, but the election could have fairly reflected the Iranian choice.

By: Brutally Honest

Brutally Honest — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:56:52 +0000

Obama resorts to protest slogans…

The leader of the free world has finally weighed in on the Iranian crisis: “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching,” Obama said in a White House statement. “We mourn each and every innocent life that is……

By: suek

suek — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:08:06 +0000

>>If the Iranians can force the mullahs to recognize the right to fair elections, even when fixed>>

?????????????

If they’re fixed, they’re not fair.

Maybe you could clarify this a bit?

By: David Foster

David Foster — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:22:08 +0000

Thanks for the Muravchik thing, which is very revealing about Obama.

What Obama doesn’t understand, and probably doesn’t want to understand, is that the arrow of causation runs both ways. Yes, a minimal level of economic well-being is helpful to the development of liberty…but a climate of individual rights and stability of law and property is also very important to economic development.

By: BrianE

BrianE — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:55:27 +0000

It has been argued elsewhere that we don’t have a stake in the outcome of this since the choices are between “thug” and “thug-lighter” (not even rising to the Minnie-me category).
I disagree.
If the Iranians can force the mullahs to recognize the right to fair elections, even when fixed, it will be a step in the right direction.
It will embolden the Iranians to push for a truly moderate regime, IMHO.
What makes this difficult is the private army at the mullahs command. They will likely not shirk from whatever tactics are necessary to put down the insurrection, even if the regular army and police might be reluctant to do so.
It will require a civil war at some point.

By: JKB

JKB — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:15:36 +0000

Imagine we elect a President with no backbone
Imagine it’s 3 a.m. and no one answers the phone
Imagine when people seek to let freedom ring over a tyrant’s quell
That the leader of the free world reaches to still liberty’s bell
Imagine when it came time to take a stand,
The President of the United States sat on his hands
Imagine that this had not already occurred.
That when a just word of support for democracy and freedom was needed, Barak Obama had not demurred.

Imagine that then decide is this change so many hoped for or just the thrall of the piper pied?

By: BrianE

BrianE — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:15:25 +0000

I thought we paid smart people to sit around in rooms dreaming up what-if scenarios.

I’ll even concede that possibly these smart people couldn’t imagine every scenario in five months, but how much different the world would be today if the left had conceded the same courtesy to the Bush administration, who in charge for 8 months, were unable to formulate a scenario like 9/11 from the rather obtuse warnings from intelligence agencies only months before for the event, the likes of which had never before occurred in the history of the world.
And yes, there had been a few piper cub type planes flown into buildings previously, but terrorist hijackings and bombings like Lockerbie and TWA800 were completely different in nature.

IMHO, Obama remains behind the curve in dealing with this. He looks like he’s a step behind. Which despots around the world are also noticing.

By: neocon hippie

neocon hippie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:51:23 +0000

Today is actually a mere five months into Obama’s term, but your point remains the same.