Word: ahmadinejad
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...Following his pummeling of opposition candidates in the debates, the President's supporters roamed the streets of Tehran, flush with confidence, brandishing the Iranian flag. But instead of throwing in the towel, Ahmadinejad's challengers went on the offensive. Mousavi, Karroubi and Mohsen Rezai, a conservative challenger, turned their debates with one another into condemnations of Ahmadinejad...
...That charge turned into a rallying cry for Mousavi supporters, who have taken to chanting "Liar! Liar!" whenever they encounter the President's backers. When he faced Rezai, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, in the final debate on Monday, Ahmadinejad appeared less confident. Rezai challenged the President on the economic numbers, saying, "People, after all, live in this country. They experience inflation. They know the price of things...
...factor in changing the equation appears to have been Ahmadinejad's character assassinations of leading political figures and, especially, his insinuation that Mousavi's wife, Professor Zahra Rahnavard, had improperly gained her academic job. "That may have been the turning point," said former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi. "He insulted Iranians' sense of decency...
...hostile political atmosphere appears likely to ensure a high turnout. "A lot of people who have never voted are planning to vote," says University of Tehran professor Nasser Hadian. "This is a referendum on Ahmadinejad. It's more a movement against the President than anything else...
...Ahmadinejad's supporters remain confident, however. On Monday, tens of thousands gathered to hear the President speak at a large mosque in central Tehran. Although many were clearly recognizable by their dress as religious conservatives and members of the basij militia, there were also liberally dressed attendees throwing their support to Ahmadinejad...