Iranians Fight Back Against Their Nutjob President

Mahmoud has had another bad day:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad looks to have been thwarted from keeping his ultra-conservative allies in control of key offices despite efforts to "cook the books" in weekend elections, the State Department said.

The elections for municipal councils and a powerful religious assembly saw Ahmadinejad loyalists suffer setbacks at the hands of more moderate candidates in a number of key races, including for seats on the Tehran city council.

"It would seem that they are not the results that President Ahmadinejad would have hoped for," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked to comment on the vote.

"I think, despite the regime's efforts to cook the books in terms of an outcome, they seem to have been thwarted in that regard," he said.

While noting the high voter turnout in Friday's election, McCormack said there had been "some fundamental flaws" in the polls, "in which there were numerous candidates that were excluded from even running."

"So the people didn't have that choice to make," he said.

Mahmoud's star seems to be shining a little less brilliantly, at least among his own people (Time Magazine still likes him as you can see in this LGF post, but of course, Time likes EVERYBODY!). He was recently heckled during a speech at a university (and some of those students have now gone into hiding because of threats to their lives), and now an election has gone against him. Darn those free elections! How is he ever going to fulfill his destiny of ushering in the 12th Imam if he can't get his own people to vote for his candidates?

If you think he was radical before, just wait.