ANALYSIS: Muted Response Reflects U.S. Diplomatic Dilemma, By Scott Wilson, Washington Post, June 15, 2009

It'll be interesting to see how the U.S. gets definitive evidence of fraud independent from the losing candidate. Pretty tricky, and yet there was enough polling done this time to suggest the mullahs strenuously sought to avoid an either-or, second run-off election.

That alone tells us a lot: we are unlikely to get very far talking with Iran.

That's not an argument for not talking, because not talking + sanctions will accomplish even less, unless you think an isolated, pissed-off nuclear Iran is more appealing/handle-able than a more connected and more internally conflicted nuclear Iran is. Me? I see no reason to abandon or write off the Iranian people that casually.

As an aside, Romney's dumb-ass quote continues to mark him as a brand-dead partisan. No American president can--by some speech or willingness to talk--prevent an authoritarian regime from defrauding an election. John McCain would be in the same position, no matter what tough talk or threats he offered.

And no, Obama's Cairo speech didn't defeat Hizbollah in Lebanon, please.

Let's keep it far more real than that.