i think, as is usual with such things, the way the iranian run-off is being portrayed in the american press is pretty simplistic. it's just reformer (rafsanjani) vs hard-liner (ahmadinejad). of course reformer=good, islamist=bad, and perhaps the only way the reformer loses is by fraud. but by all accounts rafsanjani is corrupt and out of touch, ahmadinejad incorruptible and of admirable character and connection to his constituents as mayor of tehran. it's a mild version of the way the taliban was portrayed. you too might be surprisingly susceptible to rule by incorruptible religious fanatics after a few decades of money-grubbing warlords and narcolords etc. anyway the la times has a good story this morning.