Stardate 20010609.0623 (On Screen): While Khatami's landslide victory in Iran is both expected and welcome, it's not obvious how much difference it's going to make. Iran's governmental system isn't really a democracy. There is indeed an elected government and a legislature and it can indeed pass measures. But those measures only become law if they're approved by a group of theocrats who are unelected, and enforcement of the law is controlled by judges who are also selected by the theocrats. The real point of this election was to show the conservatives that they are out of tune with their populace (which they indeed are). The unspoken threat is that if the theocrats don't loosen the reins, there might be a revolution. I hope it doesn't come to that.
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