Anyone know why the 13th Imam didn't show up?

Because Man can't immanentize the eschaton. He'll return when He's ready--not when a bunch of nutbags insist He should.

Since he's not really in charge of Iran, what difference does it make if he's re-elected?

Lowers the noise & reduces the price of oil, which is all that matters in the short term.

oj, you are charmingly naive in thinking that the Iranian electorate chose Ahmadinajad or will decide whether he continues in office.

But hey - it keeps your narrative consistent.

"Ahmedinejad's ravings aren't helping the economy, which is why he won't be re-elected." He will if he's the only one allowed to run by their supreme ayatollah.

too:

He wasn't Khamenei's first or second choice, but that's how democracy works when you get the good guys to boycott ellections.

ic:

He wasn't and won't.

Where are our CIA? Are they supposed to take advantage of situations like this to aid dissidents? May be they are too busy leaking national security secrets to the NYT.

When has a "nutbag" like Ahmadinejad left office voluntarily?

We know Khameini isn't going anywhere absent a body bag. Perhaps Mahmoud will provide it.

Is Khameini going to be Hirohito or Tojo? And will it make any difference in the end?

His rantings do serve a certain purpose, in the same way Nixon and Kissinger's "madman theory" was used to make the Soviets sweat about going to the aid of the Arab states during the Yom Kippor war -- not that his wackiness is going to keep U.S. bombs off his head if he goes too far with the administration, but his antics are unnerving some of our European allies while at the same time his hostility towards Bush is ingratiating him with folks who think he hats GWB for the same reasons they do (a cause helped by having him spout DNC talking points during his "60 Minutes" interview).

Not the guy the ayatollahs may want running the country on a long term basis, but useful if you're trying to run out the clock while developing your nuclear program and want nervous/clueless allies in the West to help with your stalling tactics.

Daniel Ortega did. Part of their insanity is thinking that they're popular, so the election results catch them off-guard.

Speaking of the insanity of dictators, we watched "Lost City" last night. I thought it dragged and was too stylized, but surprisingly, my husband was mesmerized and actually watched the end feature with some of the actors discussing the film.

Maybe it's a male thing, but the Bill Murray role was off-putting. Short pants with a suit coat. Why? Symbolism gone mad??? The role of an observer/commentator seemed pointless. All his utterances were either swallowed and unintelligible or when clearly audible, were mostly unfathomable.

I like Murray and kinda feel he could have been a bigger star if he made different choices. For the record, Dustin Hoffman, even as the comic relief, was atrocious. However …. the women's clothes were authentic and fabulous. Eat your hearts out people, that's the way we girls dressed in the 50's. Wore high heels all day, every day, and the only part of me still in mint condition, are the feet. Best decade for fashion ever!