THE JOKE CONTINUES - AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  The joke is our "negotiations" with Iran over its nuclear program.  The Iranians again are setting us straight on exactly what those "negotiations" mean to them:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran dismissed on Monday a U.S. warning that major powers would not wait forever for Tehran to prove it was not developing nuclear bombs, saying any threats or deadlines would have no impact on the Islamic Republic.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi, speaking a week before talks on a proposal to send Iranian uranium abroad for further processing, also reiterated Iran's refusal to discuss its "nuclear rights" with the six world powers.

"We have announced several times that we have nothing to discuss regarding that," he told a Tehran news conference in comments translated by Iran's state Press TV...

...Such comments were likely to fan Western suspicions that Iran is seeking to win time by stringing out inconclusive talks while mastering nuclear technology and stockpiling enriched uranium of potential use for atomic energy or weaponry.

COMMENT:  Yeah, I'd say those remarks would fan suspicions - except, maybe, in the mind of our Nobel peace laureate.

And what will our Nobel guy do when it becomes obvious that the Iranians are just stalling?  Well, Hillary Clinton is on a magical mystery tour right now to get support for a tough line on Iran.  But her next stop is Moscow, as AP reports:

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travels to Russia on Monday hoping to win Moscow's backing for a strong stance on Iran's nuclear program and looking for progress on a new arms control pact.

American officials say Iran will be at or near the top of Clinton's agenda when she meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. She plans to push for Russian support for new sanctions on Iran if it doesn't comply with demands to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

COMMENT:  Lotsa luck, Hil.  The Russians now know they're dealing with a president, a supreme egotist, who wouldn't want to upset the glow around his Nobel Prize with any action that could upset the Norwegian left.

And Hillary must be seething.

I love the AP phraseology:  "American officials say Iran will be at or near the top of Clinton's agenda..."

Near the top?  Is anything more important than stopping the Iranian nuclear program?  Well, to some Obamans a tiny arms-control agreement might be more important, because then The One can wave a piece of paper before the American people and announce what he's done for "peace."  I put nothing past him.

October 12, 2009