Sarah Palin, meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Salon.com / Juan Cole
07-Aug-2009 (2 comments)

Is Sarah Palin America's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The two differ in many key respects, of course, but it is remarkable how similar they are. There are uncanny parallels in their biographies, their domestic politics and the way they present themselves -- even in their rocky relationships with party elders.

Both are former governors of a northwest frontier state with great natural beauty (in Ahmadinejad's case, Ardabil). Both are known for saying things that produce a classic Scooby-Doo double take in their audiences. Both appeal to a sort of wounded nationalism, speaking of the sacrifice of dedicated troops for an often feckless public, and identifying themselves with the common soldier. They are vigilant against foreign designs on their countries and insist on energy and other independence.

But above all, both are populists who claim to represent the little people against wily and unscrupulous elites, and against pampered upper-middle-class yuppies pretending to be the voice of democracy. Together, they tell us something about dangerous competing populisms in an age of globalization.

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by capt_ayhab on Sat Aug 08, 2009 07:03 AM PDT

 Yawnnnnnn

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Farhad Kashani

Here we go again! Here we

by Farhad Kashani on Fri Aug 07, 2009 07:11 PM PDT

Here we go again! Here we go again with the dumb arguments! With the dumb comparisons! With comparing Republicans to IRI! With comparing Bush to Khamenei or Ahamdi N! And now it’s Palin’s turn!

 

Here we go with the media wanting to be outrageous again! Haven’t they learned how these dumb argument hurt both America and Iranian people the last 8 years? This blind anti Bushism, this blind anti Republicanism, baseless accusations, stupid logic!

 

Attention outrageous wannabe media: People have realized your wrong ways and your misguided logic! If anything, everything Bush said about the regime turned out true and everything you said turned out wrong! Now you have the audacity to continue on the wrong path?


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