Excellent cartoon. It is sad what is taking place in Iran. I am proud, but very worried, about the students, faculty and all Mousavi supporters. Your cartoon captures it.

We are watching people marching and dying for their basic rights to fairly elect a president that is more like our Secretary of State, and a position that has to answer to a religious council. In this country about the only thing that would stir our young folks to such action would be if cell phones were banned. Maybe this is a tongue-in-cheek extreme statement, but we Americans should aspire to take our elections as seriously as Iranians.

The a-typical "...bird in a gilded cage...." However, no matter the 'trappings, it is still a cage.
Freedom has never, nor never will be free.
As long as oppression, whether of a political or religious nature, is allowed those people will only do, hear and see what is allowed.
Wrong..wrong..wrong!
Thank you for your time and attention,
Woody

Wow! It's really difficult to pull off a positive cartoon without seeming overly schmaltzy, but Clay did it beautifully.

The uprising in Iran is truly incredible considering the theocratic control of the country. With the Ayatollah Khamenei coming out today proclaiming the elections fair, and calling for an end to the street protests, I'm very nervous about the next few days.

Khamenei's complete disregard for the grievances of the demonstrators, will surely turn their anger from Ahmadinejad to the ayatollah. In turn, this demonstration could now be seen as counter-revolutionary and a threat to the real leaders of Iran- the Guardian Council.

I don't know if this unrest will bring down religious rule in Iran, but I'm starting to think that Khamenei's day's as Iran's supreme leader are numbered.

Societal freedoms,Iranian or others,come with constraints(Clay's cage) to prevent the freedoms of some from infringing on the freedoms of others.That the Iranian protests have been largely non-violent and civil sets a positive example for other societies that might easily descend into chaos,burning and looting.

There is no way,at this point,for us to know what actually took place in the Iranian elections,but we can,and should, respect the fact that both sides seem to be handling the situation with restraint.

Hmmm...about the historical record concerning US “support” for democracy in Iran, which includes the 1953 coup, organized by the CIA, which overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and installed the Shah. From then until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the US backed the Shah’s torture regime and hailed it as the bulwark of the “free world” in the Persian Gulf. Why should we think history is NOT repeating itself with regard to the current elections in Iran?

Somehow, someway this will all turn out to be Bush's fault; something he said or did or didn't say or do. He stole two of OUR elections and has the know-how, right? He even did it without ACORN.

Never fear though, Glorious Leader will show us [and support] their true path...through Islam and the mullahs, no doubt.

You can write off those Iranians who objected -- note the cross-hairs on the dove.

I see, from the the NY times, that the religious leaders are threatening violent reprisals against these non-violent protesters if the protesters don't stop voicing their questions and rallies.

Somehow, I knew they would!

Let's hope it doesn't cause a blood bath/revolution.

Bullies do come in all shapes, sizes, religions, races, etc.

Rolando stated, "this will all turn out to be Bush's fault".

Wow, rolando, I can't believe you would blame President Bush for what's happening in Iran. That position seems to be both baseless and irresponsible. I'm surprised to see you turn on the ex-president like that. I would think you, of all people, would stick by him.

Note: It's funny how a direct quote, with no context, or no mention of what preceded or followed it, can sound so bad. Now, I guess you know how Judge Sotomayer feels.

By the way, Clay, this is a beautiful cartoon. A poignant tribute to the strength of the Iranian people living within a restrictive theocratic dictatorship.

An elected government is rendered meaningless if you have religious clerics deciding who can run for office beforehand, and then counting the votes once they've been cast. Until Iran frees itself from the grip of religious rule, any election is more of an exercise in hypocrisy than democracy.