IRAN - AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  Michael Jackson's death has pushed Iran off the front pages, as freedom activists, both inside and outside Iran, try to keep the flame of the resistance alive.  Meanwhile, we are getting further assurance from the thugocracy that the recent election was beautiful, fair and elegant:

TEHRAN — As Iran’s leaders push back threats to their authority after the disputed presidential election, crushing street protests and pressing challengers to withdraw or to limit their objections, the country’s main electoral oversight group ruled Friday that the ballot had been the “healthiest” since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

The statement by the 12-member Guardian Council, which is charged with overseeing and vetting elections, fell short of formal certification of the ballot. But it offered further evidence that, despite mass demonstrations and violent confrontation with those who call the election a fraud, the authorities are intent on enforcing their writ and denying their adversaries a voice.

Two weeks after the election on June 12, Mir Hussein Moussavi, the top challenger, issued an angry statement Thursday that underscored his commitment to press ahead — but also his impotence in the face of an increasingly emboldened and repressive government that restricted his ability to do much more than express outrage.

COMMENT:  Charles Krauthammer says in his column today that the resistance needs a real leader.  It's being forced off the streets by bullets, clubs and gas - that much is clear.  It can only continue if it's better organized and led.  It is receiving no real help from the outside, especially the United States, which has abdicated its position, under Obama, as leader of the free world.

Obama's weakness, his showing "respect" for the sovereignty of Iran, is bringing a predictable response from the Iranian leadership, as CNN reports:

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday called the U.S. president inexperienced, compared him unfavorably to President George W. Bush and suggested he apologize for "interfering in Iran's affairs."

"Do you think that this kind of behavior is going to solve any of your problems? It will only make people think you are someone like Bush," the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

"You are at the beginning of your way and you are gaining experience, and we do not wish the scandals of the Bush era to be repeated during your term of office," the Iranian leader said.

Obama is certainly getting results, isn't he?  If polls are correct, Americans are starting to notice.

June 26, 2009