PJ Media

PJ Mediahttps://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2009/06/13/the-iranian-circus-iii/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 04:22:09 -0400The Iranian Circus III<![CDATA[Iran doesn’t have elections, it has circuses, and this was proven once again on Friday, when the regime announced that Ahmadinezhad had been retained–call him “landslide Mahmoud” please–as president of the Islamic Republic. So much for the remarks of various pundits claiming that Iran was some sort of “democracy.” There isn’t a single educated Iranian who thinks that the official numbers represent anything more than a brazen insult to the opponents of the regime. Supreme Leader Khamenei rubbed it in when he called the outcome “divine,” but the subtlety was no doubt lost on American commentators, who were mostly concerned that the ugly circus might be good for neocons, or for Israel (yes, much the same thing, I know). Maybe Roger Cohen still believes in Iranian democracy (albeit “incomplete”), but that in itself tells you how silly the idea was.]]>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:57:16 -0400<![CDATA[Michael Ledeen]]>https://pjmedia.com/michael-ledeen/2009/06/13/the-iranian-circus-iii-n186468