The optimism I’ve been reading here was starting to affect me, but I have lost some enthusiasm since reading the following quote in the NYTimes:

“These people are not seeking a revolution,” said Ali Reza, a young actor in a brown T-shirt who stood for a moment watching on the rally’s sidelines. “We don’t want this regime to fall. We want our votes to be counted, because we want reforms, we want kindness, we want friendship with the world.”

If Ali Reza actually reflects the feelings of most of the protesters, they are wasting their time. If the election is reversed and Mousavi becomes president, very little will change. Khatami was also hailed as a “reformer,” but very little reform passed muster with the mullahs. These young people are going to be gravely disappointed. But by then the momentum for real change will have been lost.