Iran Plays Both Ways With Numbers

Iran's "supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has finally settled the disputed election by declaring that there was no fraud in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "definitive victory."

An article at msnbc.com quotes the dick-tator as citing the large margin of victory (11 million votes) as proof that the election was not rigged:

If the difference was 100,000 or 200,000 or 1 million, one may say fraud could happen. But how can one rig 11 million votes?

So since the number is so high, then it must be true? But Ahmadinejad himself has used the argument that the holocaust didn't happen or at least didn't happen on such a scale as most westerners claim because the numbers are so high.

According to Ahmadinejad, then, the Zionists are quite skilled at large-scale fraud; but according to Khamenei the Iranian government really sucks at it.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad's government was responsible for counting and reporting the vote. Unless they produce actual, physical, and verifiable ballots to prove that there was no fraud, then the reported number cannot stand up to scrutiny. It's not hard to add numbers to a ledger.

I now weigh 240 lbs. (down from 310 lbs. since October of last year!) I would like to weigh 200 lbs.

Since you cannot see me right now, how about this: I just lost 40 lbs. I now weigh 200 lbs.

The bottom line is that the margin of victory is neither an indication of or vindication against fraud. As Stalin said, "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."*

_______________

*My source says that this quote is attributed to Stalin, which means that he may not have actually said it. Nonetheless, it's a good saying, at least.