Virtual Identity Dialogue

An interesting subtext on the current US/Iran relationship is our fascination with the current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It's interesting because we spend a lot of time covering him, yet he really doesn't hold much power (or at least not as much as we think). He doesn't really rule either the country or the military - the Mullahs do. And they're not exactly backing him at the moment (their relationship to him is very similar at the moment to the general US Republican party to Bush). I've generally said he's more like the Mayor of Tehran (though the actual Mayor of Tehran may in fact have more governing power :)).

And it occurred to me it's an identity management problem. We in the US hear "President" and think of the power of our own President.

It does not occur (or compute) to us that the "role" of President could have "separation of duties" policies different than our own.

I have various ideas on how to flesh out this analogy but I thought I'd throw this one over the wall and see what sticks.