SHOCK!  MY SALTS, MY SALTS, PLEASE - AT 7:37 P.M. ET:  What a surprise, from the wise and virtuous rulers of Iran:

CAIRO — Iran’s powerful Guardian Council certified the results of the country’s disputed presidential election on Monday, according to state television, an unexpectedly rapid move that set the stage for more clashes in the streets of Tehran.

The announcement came even as the government continued its efforts to try to quell public anger over the election, with a parliamentary committee reaching out to religious leaders. The government went to far as to extend a deadline for considering complaints of vote rigging — just hours before confirming the vote.

When news of the certification broke, witnesses said, security and militia forces flooded the streets, and protesters who were already out marching down Tehran’s central avenue, Vali Asr, broke into furious chants. Other Iranians, urged on by Web site pleas, went to their rooftops to yell “God is great!” in a show of defiance.

COMMENT:  You'd think that our president, so exercised over Honduras, would express daily outrage at this farce in Iran.  But, you know, certifying an allegedly crooked election probably so much reminded Obama of Chicago that he just got a little dreamy, maybe homesick.  Cut him some slack, will you?

June 29, 2009