MEMO FROM TEHRAN: "U.S. Focus on Ahmadinejad Puzzles Iranians," by Michael Slackman, New York Times, 24 September 2007, p. A4.

Three good quotes:

Political analysts here say they are surprised at the degree to which the West focuses on their president, saying that it reflects a general misunderstanding of their system. Unlike in the United States, in Iran the president is not the head of state nor commander in chief.

And:

"Ahmadinejad is a phenomenon," said Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president under the more moderate administration of Mohammad Khatami. "On a religious level he is much more of a hard-liner than the traditional hard-liners. But on a political level, he does not have the support of the hard-liners."

And:

Mr. Ahmadinejad's power stems not from his office per se, but from the refusal of his patron, Ayatollah Khamenei, and some hardline leaders, to move beyond Iran's revolutionary identity, which makes full relations with the West impossible. There are plenty of conservatives and hard-liners who take a more pragmatic view, wanting to retain "revolutionary values," while integrating Iran with the world, at least economically. But they are not driving the agenda these days, and while that could change, it will not be the president who makes that call.

So we elevate this guy despite the fact that he is "increasingly isolated politically at home because of his go-it-alone style and ineffective economic policies."