LEAD, FOLLOW, OR RIDE THE UNICORN...:

Obama stays on sidelines after Iran's disputed election: 'It's not productive, given the history of the U.S.-Iranian relationship, to be seen as meddling,' the president says. (Paul Richter, June 17, 2009, LA Times)

As they watch the bedlam unfold after Iran's disputed presidential election, U.S. officials are uncertain whether it might lead to reform and an easing of tensions with Tehran or to a crackdown by an insecure leadership. Either way, they say, their course is clear: Say little, and do even less. [...]

[O]bama has accepted his public status of an onlooker.

Barack Obama sits on the fence by refusing to back Mousavi (Kiran Randhawa, 17.06.09, Evening Standard)

Barack Obama has come under attack for refusing to meddle in the row over Iran's disputed election.

The American president is resisting pressure to side with the country's opposition, saying there might not be much difference between the policies of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his rival Mirhossein Mousavi.

Maybe the teleprompter is just out of batteries because he's missing a golden opportunity to borrow from the Gipper at Westminster. Recall that the key to that speech was President Reagan's indictment of Communism not in Western terms but in Marxist. The differences between the candidates are entirely beside the point in Iran. The vital thing is that thwarting the electorate violates the principles of the Republic and delegitimize it by its own standards. Mr. Obama doesn't need to meddle, just turn up the pressure by openly and continuously referring to Ahmedinejad as unelected.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 17, 2009 6:01 AM