Quote:
Originally Posted by octothorp
Right, but this isn't about the vocal minority in the streets, it's about the silent majority who are watching the protests and trying to decide where they stand on the election results - some of whom voted for Ahmadinejad, some of whom voted for Mousavi. No doubt there are some soft Ahmadinejad supporters who are having second thoughts based on what they're seeing, but vocal US support will allow them to more easily dismiss this as a western plot.
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Once again I seriously don't see average Iranians dismissing these protests as a Western plot based on a statement from Obama.
Hack&Lube got things pretty bang on. If you look at the demographics of Iran the vast majority of people there are young. Iran tried to entrench their fundamentalist republic by increasing its population. This has now backfired, as they have a large young and progressive population who is demanding their rights.
I understand your point about the swing vote, but based on the number of people at the earlier protests, this is not just a small movement trying to attract members from an undecided population.