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Vibrant footage of green activists lining the boulevards of Teheran brought election fever to life on NBC. Islamist green is the color of supporters of former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinjead sports the green-white-red tricolor of the flag of the Islamic Revolution.
Coverage of Iran on American newscasts so often concentrates on our western preoccupations: where Iranian leaders stand on Israel or nuclear weapons or the role of Islamic law. Refreshingly, Richard Engel portrayed the sociological and economic bases of domestic support for each candidate. Mousavi represents privilege--"students, intellectuals, business owners…many of Iran's wealthy elite." Ahmadinejad accuses Mousavi's backers of corruption as he takes a populist tack: "His base is the working class in south Teheran. In his four years in office the President has tripled government wages and awarded billions in loans to low-income families."
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