NYC Letter: Robust Political Debate III

Day 146 of CHOPE

Obviously all of us have been watching the news from Iran. ... I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. ... We will continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue between our two countries, and we'll see where it takes us. But even as we do so, I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we've seen on the television over the last few days. And what I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was. And they should know that the world is watching.

Mr. Obama,
commenting on the situation in Iran
after three days of being briefed by television
PRESS AVAILABILITY
WASHINGTON June15, 2009 (White House)

Caught off-guard without a ready apology. That doesn't leave much to say. [Pause.] Team Barry has been circumspect addressing the violence in Iran because it doesn't want to queer the nice tea party with Mr. Ahmadinejad. Any day now.

On Saturday, the White House was merely "monitoring" the situation, press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement. On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden* said he had "doubts" about the election. And on Monday, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the U.S. is "deeply troubled" by events in Iran but stopped short of condemning them.

"I haven’t used that word, 'condemn,'" he told the State Department press corps. “We need to see how things unfold.”

"You need to see more heads cracked in the middle of the street?" Fox New' James Rosen shot back.

"We need a deeper assessment of what’s going on," Kelly said.

THAT DEEPER ASSESSMENT
What's Going On
[Photo sources, top down: Boston Globe/STR/AFP/Getty Images;
Boston Globe/Reuters/Ahmed Jadalla;
Boston Globe/Olivier Laban-Mattei/AFP/Getty Images]

It is disconcerting that a president with the full resources of the United States at his disposal is instead following developments in Iran on television. Where was Mr. Obama's forward thinking? Where was his NSC? Nobody saw this coming? Just how tough a call is election fraud in Iran?

Here is what anyone watching television could learn in the run-up to the Iranian election: A repressive regime known for its thuggery hand-picks candidates, among whom is the darling incumbent with roots in the Revolutionary Guard. A perfunctory campaign becomes animated -- acrimonious -- and the straw reformer becomes a popular contender. Opposition rallies are disrupted by club-wielding pro-Ahmadinejad Basijis. [Pause.] Now just give this narrative a moment's thought. [A moment's thought later.] What is your best guess how this plays out?

Team Barry is not prepared to do much other than watch televison and fret. An administration not prepared to do much is better off not saying much.

This is what "smart power" employed by a community organizer looks like.

Meanwhile the opposition holds massive rallies and are beaten and shot and shot dead. Hey, what's on Letterman tonight?

CHOPE.

Unfolding silence. Deeper assessment. Good luck.

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* Providing a clueless administration clueless foreign policy expertise.