From Holden:

Your Preznit, yesterday:

American President George Bush said on Monday that he would grudgingly accept an Islamic fundamentalist government in Iraq, if the Iraqi people voted to create one in free elections.

“I would be disappointed, but democracy is democracy,” Bush said when asked about the possibility that Iraqis might some day prefer an Islamic government to secular rule.

“If that’s what the people choose, that’s what the people choose,” the president added.

Iran responds, today (via Hesiod):

“Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security decision-making body.

“We haven’t seen anything good from Democrats,” Rowhani told state-run television in remarks that, for the first time in recent decades, saw Iran openly supporting one U.S. presidential candidate over another.

“We should not forget that most sanctions and economic pressures were imposed on Iran during the time of Clinton,” Rowhani said of the former Democratic president. “And we should not forget that during Bush’s era — despite his hard-line and baseless rhetoric against Iran — he didn’t take, in practical terms, any dangerous action against Iran.”

Though Iran generally does not publicly wade into U.S. presidential politics, it has a history of preferring Republicans over Democrats, who tend to press human rights issues.

“We do not desire to see Democrats take over,” Rowhani said when asked if Iran was supporting Kerry against Bush.”