I thought McCain's strongest debate moment was when he rocked Obama back a little in their exchange on Iran. I suppose that you could argue that the whole pre-conditions thing was petty and insubstantive.
But Obama could have owned the topic easily and I thought he was going to with his opening gambit.
Obama began by correctly noting that Ahmadinejad is not the most powerful person in Iran. That would be Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei commands the armed forces and had full veto power over any of Ahmadinejad's decision. Seriously, his title is Supreme Leader, and unlike Bush, that title isn't ironic.
It is the Supreme Leader who selects the candidates for President. The President is elected to a maximum of two four year terms, but he functions more like a Prime Minister in his relationship with the Iranian legislature or Majlis.
What Obama should have done is focused on the irrelevancy of Ahmadinejad in setting nuclear policy. Yes, Ahmadinejad is a crank and an anti-semite. But the real power lies with the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council. They are the people we should be talking to.
Secondly, he should have noted that George Bush created Ahmadinejad.
On 9/11 (hey, look, I can reflexively say it, too), Iranian citizens flooded the streets in a candle light vigil of solidarity with the victims in New York and Arlington. Iranian intelligence helped us track down Al Qaeda and invade Afghanistan. There was a thaw in relations with Iran, because Sunni extremists are their enemy, too.
Then Bush created the Axis of Evil. Then Bush invaded Iraq. With massive American armies on both borders and threatening language from Washington, Iran turned to a demogogic crank.
The more we demonize Ahmadinejad, the more we legitimize him to the Iranian electorate. The more we marginalize him, the more we neuter his appeal.
In one year, Ahmadinejad will face the Iranian voters. If we can isolate him from the Iranian people, we stand an excellent chance of finding someone in Tehran we can deal with. The Guardian Council may select the candidate field, but the elections are free enough that a smart Iran Policy could and should undermine Ahmadinejad at home, not build him into a threat that he is not.