Saltines for Ahmadinejad

From Becky Bonarek: I am a firm believer in the power of Saltines, so I am giving a sleeve to the president of Iran, who is apparently suffering from exhaustion. To combat rumors of a more serious illness, he made a statement to the effect that every human suffers physical aliments sometimes, and he was grateful that it wasn't more serious. His more serious critics and opponents were using the rumors to cast further doubt on a president that is facing increasingly vocal opposition within his own country, so much so that he may not be elected for a second term. Ahmadinejad's illness (or whatever one would categorize exhaustion) has similar implications as the rumors about Kim Jong-Il's recent bout of bad health: how does one project an aura of power when one feels physically ill? The exhaustion may just fuel the sentiment that Ahmadinejad is no longer up to the task of running one of the largest oil producers in the world, and the people may not choose to reelect him. I don't know much about Iranian politics, so I can't exactly speculate on who would replace him, but either possibility (a more West-friendly administration or one that would seek to further isolate itself) would further rock the world of IR.