As I write, a diary on the rec list has Mousavi winning in Iran today.
But wait! It's been deleted. That's how strange things are.
Josh Marshall notes that the Iranian state media have called the election for Ahmadinejad, with a whopping 75% majority.
But wait! As Josh also notes, Mousavi held a press conference in which he declared himself the winner.
Emerging democracy, meet 24-hour news cycle.
It's probably going to take a while for the dust to settle. But let's note some things as we wait:
- The turnout was huge. This is likely good for Mousavi.
- The vote count is being controlled by an organization appointed by Ahmadinejad.
- It will take longer to count the votes in Iran than it would it the US.
- Bush/Gore was decided only after Al Gore decided not to contest further. And Al Franken is not yet a senator.
There's a sense in which democracy is likely to win no matter what the outcome. We should have such a turnout here.