It should be noted that Mousavi himself, although he has criticized Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial and confrontational politics, is not pro-Western — and he had a hand in starting Iran’s nuclear weapons projects. We shouldn’t expect things to change very much in Iran even if the election is overturned — an unlikely possibility.

I dunno — I think this is just the beginning. In many person-on-the-street interviews I saw, Iranians said they didn’t really care about Mousavi himself as a candidate, they just voted for him as the only way to vote against Ahmadinejad. I think once Mousavi takes office, there will be much and greater pressure for further reforms, and then more and more, until the Mullahs are out of power.

Mousavi could essentially be like Gorbachev - - who was himself still a Soviet communist, yet who was the bridge which ushered in a new era and got rid of the old regime. It took several years for Gorbachev to do that, and it would probably take years for Mousavi to do it too (assuming of course the election results are overturned, which is obviously not on the agenda at the moment).

Mousavi is not “perfect,” but he’s a hell of a lot better than dinnerjacket.