The Iranian Elections: Sound Familiar?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election over his main rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, by an overwhelming margin. Outside the government's official tally, however, no one believes it was that overwhelming.

Hundreds of thousands of Mousavi's supporters took to the streets of Tehran, believing that dirty politics and voter fraud have robbed their candidate of his rightful place as the next Iranian president. The government has responded with violent crackdowns (killing seven demonstrators), restricting Web access (though Twitter has been able to get through), and kicking the foreign media out of the country.

Silly people. Don't they know that whoever they elect as their president is a figurehead beholden to the ayatollahs who actually run the country? Nevertheless, the clerics say they'll look into the charges, but the outcome isn't likely to change.

The only reason anyone pays attention to Ahmadinejad is that, in a volatile part of the world, he's been known to make provocative statements. He's deliberately vague about Iran's nuclear program. He wants to blow Israel off the map. And he's a Holocaust skeptic.

Ahmadinejad bears a resemblance to another leader who ruled by fear, advised by a power behind the throne, says outrageous things, and managed to keep himself in power through smear tactics. If you need a hint, that leader was George W. Bush.

Come to think of it, what's happening in Iran right now is not much different than what happened in the United States during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Except for the demonstrations. Americans are too meek for that.

For now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is still the President of Iran. His detractors around the world will just have to deal with it.