voter turnout

[Star]

.
Yikes! - the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more active democracy than the United States of America? So much for the United States being a model democracy for the whole world.


Reformist Hassan Rowhani Wins Election

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has won Iran's presidential election, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible Iranians had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured just over the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

<snip>


National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2012

This page provides information about voter statistics, including age of voting population, voter registration, turnout, and more.

2012 - 53.6%
.

 

[waltky]

Time for change but Arabs don't hold out much hope...

Rouhani victory - time for Iran change?
15 June 2013 > The victory of reformist-backed figure Hassan Rouhani in Iran's 14 June presidential election has a number of uncomfortable messages for the country's ruling right-wing establishment.

Mr Rouhani was not the reformists' first, or even the second, choice of candidate. Most had pinned their hopes on former President Mohammad Khatami, but he did not put his name forward. The reformists then looked to the pragmatic veteran politician Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from standing by Iran's top election body, the Guardian Council. And when Mohammad Reza Aref, the only reformist candidate in the running, withdrew earlier this week in favour of Mr Rouhani, the reformists reached a consensus and threw their weight behind him.

Hassan Rouhani is a 64-year-old cleric often described as moderate

His victory in the first round - when he unexpectedly gained 50.7% of the votes in a turnout of over 72% - has certainly emboldened the reform movement. After four years of seeing their leaders placed under house arrest, many of them imprisoned and their media outlets curtailed, they sense that voters have given them a mandate for change. This is despite the fact that Mr Rouhani is seen as more of a "moderate, centrist" figure, rather than a "true" reformer in the vein of Green movement leaders Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who are both under house arrest.

Hardline defeat

The downbeat mood of the "principle-ist" - or conservative ruling coalition - is evident by the tone of their media. Tabnak news agency, which is affiliated to defeated principle-ist candidate Mohsen Rezai, set the agenda. An online editorial appearing a day after the poll and before the final outcome was announced, spoke of the 2013 presidential election as a "necessary defeat for the principle-ists". "The principle-ists must understand that they must be accountable and answerable," said the editorial. "The principle-ists... must know that the era of monopolizing the media has ended."

Rouhani supporters made their feelings known in Tehran even before the vote was counted

The hardline Javan newspaper chose to put a gloss on the affair, concentrating on the reported high turnout. "The Iranian nation, with its epic presence at polling stations, proved it has a strong bond with the Islamic system and again disappointed and defeated the enemy. This election, irrespective of the result, should be considered as a model for correcting the current political behaviour of groups and political activists." The conservatives had assumed an easy ride.

MORE

See also:

Arabs don't hold out much hope for a Rowhani-led Iran...

Arabs Put (Slim) Hopes in New Iranian President
June 15, 2013 — The election of a moderate Iranian president could help rein in hostility between Tehran and its Arab neighbors, but many Arabs doubt he can end a sectarian confrontation that has been inflamed by war in Syria.

Hassan Rowhani, a Shi'ite cleric known for a conciliatory approach and backed by reformists, will have only limited say in policy determined by Iran's supreme leader; but with the Syrian carnage fueling rage among Sunni Arabs across the region, any gestures from Tehran may help contain it. "We hope the new Iranian president will be a believer in a political solution in Syria," said one ambassador at the Arab League in Cairo. "All that we read about Rowhani might be grounds for hope - but there is a great difference between election campaigns and what is said once in office."

For the United States and Western powers, at odds with Iran for decades and now rallying with arms behind rebels fighting Syria's Iranian-backed president, fierce religious enmities in the oil-rich Middle East add to fears of wider instability. In Saudi Arabia, whose U.S.-allied rulers lead opposition to what they see as Iran's drive to spread its power and religion, analyst Jamal Khashoggi said: "I'm sure for the Saudi leadership this is the best outcome of the elections."

Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rowhani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, speaks during a campaign rally in Tehran

He recalled that Iran's last reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, who visited Riyadh while in office from 1997-2005, had mended ties - but at a time of less ferocious disputes. Unlike now, Khashoggi said, "Iran was not meddling heavily in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen ... There were no Shi'ites killing Sunnis." In Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are battling Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad and his Alawite establishment, who belong to an offshoot of Shi'ism, opposition activists saw little hope for change from Rowhani. "The election is cosmetic," said Omar al-Hariri from Deraa, where the uprising began during the Arab Spring two years ago.

Muhammed al-Husseini, from the Sunni Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham in Raqaa, noted power in Iran rested with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "The powers given to the Iranian president are weak these days," he said. "They are fake powers." In Bahrain, whose Saudi-backed Sunni monarchy accuses Iran of fomenting protests among the Shi'ite majority on the island since 2011, Information Minister Samira Rajab said: "I think Rowhani is one of a team. And anybody who comes from that team will continue the same policy ... We have no more trust in the Iranian regime after what happened in Bahrain."

Egyptian Caution

 

[Star]

Time for change but Arabs don't hold out much hope...

Rouhani victory - time for Iran change?
15 June 2013 > The victory of reformist-backed figure Hassan Rouhani in Iran's 14 June presidential election has a number of uncomfortable messages for the country's ruling right-wing establishment.

Mr Rouhani was not the reformists' first, or even the second, choice of candidate. Most had pinned their hopes on former President Mohammad Khatami, but he did not put his name forward. The reformists then looked to the pragmatic veteran politician Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from standing by Iran's top election body, the Guardian Council. And when Mohammad Reza Aref, the only reformist candidate in the running, withdrew earlier this week in favour of Mr Rouhani, the reformists reached a consensus and threw their weight behind him.

Hassan Rouhani is a 64-year-old cleric often described as moderate

His victory in the first round - when he unexpectedly gained 50.7% of the votes in a turnout of over 72% - has certainly emboldened the reform movement. After four years of seeing their leaders placed under house arrest, many of them imprisoned and their media outlets curtailed, they sense that voters have given them a mandate for change. This is despite the fact that Mr Rouhani is seen as more of a "moderate, centrist" figure, rather than a "true" reformer in the vein of Green movement leaders Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who are both under house arrest.

Hardline defeat

The downbeat mood of the "principle-ist" - or conservative ruling coalition - is evident by the tone of their media. Tabnak news agency, which is affiliated to defeated principle-ist candidate Mohsen Rezai, set the agenda. An online editorial appearing a day after the poll and before the final outcome was announced, spoke of the 2013 presidential election as a "necessary defeat for the principle-ists". "The principle-ists must understand that they must be accountable and answerable," said the editorial. "The principle-ists... must know that the era of monopolizing the media has ended."

Rouhani supporters made their feelings known in Tehran even before the vote was counted

The hardline Javan newspaper chose to put a gloss on the affair, concentrating on the reported high turnout. "The Iranian nation, with its epic presence at polling stations, proved it has a strong bond with the Islamic system and again disappointed and defeated the enemy. This election, irrespective of the result, should be considered as a model for correcting the current political behaviour of groups and political activists." The conservatives had assumed an easy ride.

MORE

See also:

Arabs don't hold out much hope for a Rowhani-led Iran...

Arabs Put (Slim) Hopes in New Iranian President
June 15, 2013 — The election of a moderate Iranian president could help rein in hostility between Tehran and its Arab neighbors, but many Arabs doubt he can end a sectarian confrontation that has been inflamed by war in Syria.

Hassan Rowhani, a Shi'ite cleric known for a conciliatory approach and backed by reformists, will have only limited say in policy determined by Iran's supreme leader; but with the Syrian carnage fueling rage among Sunni Arabs across the region, any gestures from Tehran may help contain it. "We hope the new Iranian president will be a believer in a political solution in Syria," said one ambassador at the Arab League in Cairo. "All that we read about Rowhani might be grounds for hope - but there is a great difference between election campaigns and what is said once in office."

For the United States and Western powers, at odds with Iran for decades and now rallying with arms behind rebels fighting Syria's Iranian-backed president, fierce religious enmities in the oil-rich Middle East add to fears of wider instability. In Saudi Arabia, whose U.S.-allied rulers lead opposition to what they see as Iran's drive to spread its power and religion, analyst Jamal Khashoggi said: "I'm sure for the Saudi leadership this is the best outcome of the elections."

Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rowhani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, speaks during a campaign rally in Tehran

He recalled that Iran's last reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, who visited Riyadh while in office from 1997-2005, had mended ties - but at a time of less ferocious disputes. Unlike now, Khashoggi said, "Iran was not meddling heavily in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen ... There were no Shi'ites killing Sunnis." In Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are battling Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad and his Alawite establishment, who belong to an offshoot of Shi'ism, opposition activists saw little hope for change from Rowhani. "The election is cosmetic," said Omar al-Hariri from Deraa, where the uprising began during the Arab Spring two years ago.

Muhammed al-Husseini, from the Sunni Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham in Raqaa, noted power in Iran rested with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "The powers given to the Iranian president are weak these days," he said. "They are fake powers." In Bahrain, whose Saudi-backed Sunni monarchy accuses Iran of fomenting protests among the Shi'ite majority on the island since 2011, Information Minister Samira Rajab said: "I think Rowhani is one of a team. And anybody who comes from that team will continue the same policy ... We have no more trust in the Iranian regime after what happened in Bahrain."

Egyptian Caution

IOWs - what you're saying is the democratically elected officials in the ME will refuse to respond to the will of the people who elected them? If that's what you're saying I agree but-----but if you are implying politicians are different in the "world's model democracy", consider;

A Model Democracy? Really?

by Dave Lindorff - reduction by Star

But what kind of democracy is it really that we have here?

Forget that only half of eligible voters typically vote in quadrennial presidential elections (less than 30% in so-called “off-year” elections for members of the House and a third of the Senate, and less than 25% in municipal and state elections). Forget that the government is increasingly trampling on the Constitution and its Bill of Rights, with a burgeoning surveillance program and a growing militarization of the police.

The US government doesn’t even do what the majority of the citizens want. In fact, these days it flat out ignores what we the people want.

Consider the polls, and what they show public sentiment to be on key issues, and then look at what the government, composed of supposedly elected representatives and an elected president, actually does:

1. Military spending
Most polls show that Americans, tired of the endless wars that have been raging almost without pause since the end of World War II, and the huge amount of taxes devoted to the military (currently over $1 trillion per year!), favor cutting the military.

2. Healthcare
Even with the passage of a sort of healthcare reform, the ludicrously and optimistically named Affordable Care Act, most Americans still tell pollsters that they would prefer a Canadian-style plan in which the government provides health insurance coverage for all, paid for by taxation. For decades this has been true. In 1988, a Harvard University/Harris poll found 61% favoring a Canadian-style so-called “single-payer” healthcare system.

3. Social security and Medicare programs for the elderly
Last year, President Obama, who campaigned for election in 2008 vowing never to cut Social Security benefits or Medicare programs, appointed an advisory commission heavily weighted towards people who favored such cuts, and told them to come up with recommendations for “reforming” both programs. He pointedly added that “nothing” was “off the table” in terms of ideas, including benefit cuts. Right wing politicians and business lobbies have long been calling for cuts in both programs, claiming that they will “run out of money,” in a decade in the case of Medicare and in 45-50 years in the case of Social Security. What they fail to mention is that if people were taxed on income of over $106,000 a year with the Social Security tax, and if the Medicare tax, currently less than 2% of income, were raised, there would be no shortfall at all.

Never mind the public though. Nearly all Republicans, and even many Democrats, in Congress, all recipients of large amounts of corporate campaign cash, continue to call for cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits.

4. Higher taxes on the wealthy
With the US budget deficit soaring, with infrastructure crumbling, and with pressures mounting to cut important social programs like health care, education and welfare for the poor, there are increasing calls from the public for higher taxes on the wealthy again. President Obama has responded by calling for a slight increase in taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year, back to a 35% rate that was in effect in 2000, but nobody in government is talking about seriously taxing the rich. As for the public? Poll after poll shows strong support for socking it to the wealthy. A Pew Research poll in July found that 44% favored higher taxes for those above $250,000 a year in income. Only 22% said they though such higher taxes were a bad idea. 44% also said higher taxes on the rich would be “more fair,” while 21% disagreed.

5. Action to combat climate change
Since taking office in 2008, President Obama, who had campaigned calling for action on climate change, has done almost nothing to reduce or even slow the pace of US carbon emissions. Neither has Congress done anything. The US, internationally, has actually worked openly and behind-the-scenes to prevent any global treaty on climate issues. Yet the American people want action.

A Gallup Poll last April, for example, found that 65% of Americans support having the government impose mandatory controls on CO2 emissions, even if that meant higher prices for energy and other things.

6. The war in Afghanistan
President Obama and his advisors say that even after 2014, the US will continue to have troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Yet only 27% of Americans in a recent poll by AP-GfK said they support that war. A whopping 66% said they oppose it and want it ended.

7. Invading Iran
According to a poll in March by the University of Maryland, published in the Christian Science Monitor, 70% of Americans said they wanted a diplomatic solution to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. If the question was phrased to assume Iran was shown to be constructing a bomb, the result was different, with 56% supporting a US attack on Iran, but given that even US intelligence officials say there is no bomb program underway, this is not the issue.

And yet the US continues to send ever more offensive weapons to the borders of Iran, and to support covert terrorist actions inside the country, in the name of combating the country’s alleged nuclear program.
Looking at this huge disconnect between what the public wants on issue after issue and what the government actually does, one has to wonder how much different the US system is from one like China’s or Saudi Arabia’s, where there is no pretense of democracy.

Certainly Americans have the right and the ability to vote for candidates, but that alone appears not to produce what President Abraham Lincoln, back in 1865, called a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”



.

 

[Decus]

You call this democracy:

"When Iranians vote on Friday, they will be selecting from six candidates, all drawn from Iran&#8217;s alliance of Shiite Muslim clerics and Revolutionary Guards commanders, known as the traditionalists."

"Where are the opposition leaders from 2009?
Many have fled the country, been silenced or jailed. The two main reformist candidates in that election, Mr. Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, remain under house arrest."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/middleeast/a-guide-to-irans-presidential-election.html?_r=0

 

[Moonglow]

.
Yikes! - the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more active democracy than the United States of America? So much for the United States being a model democracy for the whole world.


Reformist Hassan Rowhani Wins Election

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has won Iran's presidential election, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible Iranians had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured just over the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

<snip>


National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2012

This page provides information about voter statistics, including age of voting population, voter registration, turnout, and more.

2012 - 53.6%
.

Do you always deceive yourself?

 

[Political Junky]

Quite a change for Iran.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/world/middleeast/iran-election.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

TEHRAN &#8212; In a striking repudiation of the ultraconservatives who wield power in Iran, voters here overwhelmingly elected a mild-mannered cleric who advocates greater personal freedoms and a more conciliatory approach to the world.

The cleric, Hassan Rowhani, 64, won a commanding 50.7 percent of the vote in the six-way race, according to final results released Saturday, avoiding a runoff in the race to replace the departing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose tenure was defined largely by confrontation with the West and a seriously hobbled economy at home.

Thousands of jubilant supporters poured into the streets of Tehran, dancing, blowing car horns and waving placards and ribbons of purple, Mr. Rowhani&#8217;s campaign color. After the previous election in 2009, widely seen as rigged, many Iranians were shaking their heads that their votes were counted this time.
<more>

 

[Star]

You call this democracy:

"When Iranians vote on Friday, they will be selecting from six candidates, all drawn from Iran’s alliance of Shiite Muslim clerics and Revolutionary Guards commanders, known as the traditionalists."

"Where are the opposition leaders from 2009?
Many have fled the country, been silenced or jailed. The two main reformist candidates in that election, Mr. Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, remain under house arrest."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/middleeast/a-guide-to-irans-presidential-election.html?_r=0

It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out but-----but so far, whether you like it or not, the percentage of Iranians that went to the polls are in a percentile that America isn't even close enough to dream
of, and yet-----and yet American hubristics claim we're "the world's model democracy" and-----and we should be proud -proud- to export the US version of democracy to the rest of the world via our big military hammer.
.

 

[Lakhota]

.
Yikes! - the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more active democracy than the United States of America? So much for the United States being a model democracy for the whole world.


Reformist Hassan Rowhani Wins Election

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has won Iran's presidential election, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible Iranians had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured just over the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

<snip>


National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2012

This page provides information about voter statistics, including age of voting population, voter registration, turnout, and more.

2012 - 53.6%
.

Please correct me if wrong - but won't the new president report to a religious nut just like the former president? After all, Iran is a theocracy, correct?

 

[waltky]

Rouhani takes oath of office as Iran's president...

Iran's new president Rouhani takes oath of office
Aug 4,`13 -- Iran's new president on Sunday called on the West to abandon the "language of sanctions" in dealing with the Islamic Republic over its contentious nuclear program, hoping to ease the economic pressures now grinding its people.

President Hasan Rouhani spoke after being sworn in as president in an open session of parliament, capping a weekend that saw him endorsed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. Rouhani, a moderate cleric who won a landslide victory in the June 14 presidential elections, continued his call for dialogue with the West while asking foreign powers to respect Iran in its negotiations. "If you seek a suitable answer, speak to Iran through the language of respect, not through the language of sanctions," the president said in a speech broadcast live by Iranian state television. He later added that any negotiations would require "bilateral trust building, mutual respect and the lessening of hostilities."

Iran is under United Nations sanctions as well as unilateral Western oil and banking sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to power reactors producing electricity or build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and geared towards generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients. Rouhani replaces President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who struck a hard-line approach when dealing with the West and its sanctions over the nuclear program. The sanctions have hit the country's vital oil exports and blocked transactions on international banking networks. Inflation is running at more than 35 percent. The Iranian rial has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the U.S. dollar since late 2011.

Many Iranians and foreign diplomats hope that Rouhani, a former top nuclear negotiator, can strike a more conciliatory tone in negotiations. Those hopes could be seen by the attendance at his swearing in, as the audience included leaders and other representatives from more than 50 countries. It was the first time since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that foreign dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony of an Iranian president. In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Rouhani's inauguration represented "an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program." "Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States," Carney said in a statement.

During his speech, Rouhani said Iran opposes "any change in political systems through foreign intervention." Iran is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country remains in the grips of a bloody two-year civil war. Assad's government has received fighters from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, helping government forces gain ground in recent weeks. "Peace and stability in all neighboring regions is a need and necessity for Iran," Rouhani said.

MORE

See also:

US offers Iran President Rouhani 'willing partnership'
4 August 2013 > The US has offered Iran a "willing partnership", after President Hassan Rouhani was inaugurated in Tehran.

The White House said Iran now had a chance to allay fears over its nuclear programme and meet its international obligations. Mr Rouhani used his inauguration speech to promise a government of moderation for all Iranians, but also called for international sanctions to be lifted. US-Iran relations soured under ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He regularly made inflammatory speeches denouncing the US and Israel. Analysts said Mr Rouhani's inauguration speech was conciliatory in tone, and he appeared to be reaching out to groups inside and outside Iran. "In international interactions, my government will try to build mutual trust between Iran and the regional and global countries," he told parliament. "Transparency is the key to open a new chapter in mutual trust. And the transparency we are talking about cannot be a one-way transparency, and without practical measures in our bilateral and multilateral relations."

The BBC's Katy Watson in Washington says there is a feeling that the relationship between Iran and the US could move forward after years of stalemate. The 64-year-old former nuclear negotiator added that no country could preserve peace by waging war, and said Iran would not cause conflict with any other nation. He also nominated a cabinet that included moderates in key positions, including ex-UN envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif as foreign minister. However, he did not mention the nuclear programme, which has blighted Iran's international relations and seen a slew of economic sanctions. Iran has consistently said its programme is aimed only at providing power and has no military objective. But UN inspectors have regularly complained of being denied access to the most suspect nuclear sites.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Mr Rouhani's inauguration "presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear programme". "Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States," he said. Mr Rouhani, who has worked as a diplomat for three decades, won a surprise victory in June's election. He gained support from reformists by hinting at a more moderate stance than his predecessor.

BBC News - US offers Iran President Rouhani 'willing partnership'

 

[Star]

.
Yikes! - the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more active democracy than the United States of America? So much for the United States being a model democracy for the whole world.


Reformist Hassan Rowhani Wins Election

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has won Iran's presidential election, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible Iranians had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured just over the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

<snip>


National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2012

This page provides information about voter statistics, including age of voting population, voter registration, turnout, and more.

2012 - 53.6%
.

Please correct me if wrong - but won't the new president report to a religious nut just like the former president? After all, Iran is a theocracy, correct?

Kinda-sorta but-----but it looks like the Ayatollahs are listening to the Iranian people - like I said in an earlier message on this thread "it'll be interesting to see how this plays out..."
.

 

[Star]

.
Yikes! - the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more active democracy than the United States of America? So much for the United States being a model democracy for the whole world.


Reformist Hassan Rowhani Wins Election

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has won Iran's presidential election, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible Iranians had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured just over the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

<snip>


National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2012

This page provides information about voter statistics, including age of voting population, voter registration, turnout, and more.

2012 - 53.6%
.

Do you always deceive yourself?

Diplomacy takes time and we don't yet know how it will shake out but-----but if diplomacy keeps Iran from making nukes should we give Obama/Clinton, Obama/Kerry or-----Obama credit for finding a diplomatic solution to untying this Gordian Knot?

TIME.com

3. Diplomacy just got easier for Obama. Obama, too, faces domestic political pressure—namely the charge that he’s being hoodwinked by a Rouhani charm offensive designed to buy more time for the nuclear program. When Rouhani declined to meet, those charges seemed more credible. But Rouhani’s invitation to chat today—along with a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s foreign minister in New York yesterday—gives Obama something to show impatient members of Congress and allies in Israel who are insisting that any diplomatic solution has to come quickly.

Washington and Tehran are still a long way from a deal. The centrifuges spin away. And it remains unclear what Hasan Rouhani’s true intentions are. But today’s phone call suggests we’re closer to the beginning of this story than the end.
.