What About Khatami?

I initially didn't post on Khatami's official entry into Iran's presidential race because the big question seemed to be whether he could win, and Iranian politics has a way of making predictions look foolish. Eric Martin, however, did some musing on whether he could succeed if elected.

Succeed at what? That's the question. His anti-corruption campaign threatened the clerical establishment more than his social and systemic reforms, so he might be able to pursue those as long as he agrees not to look to hard at the hands in the till. It's on foreign policy, however, where he could make his greatest impact. After all, as I said in comments, his feelers toward the U.S. during his earlier presidency were done in by the Bush administration, not Iranian hardliners.