John Hinderaker at PowerLine breaks down the possible reasons for Obama’s strange stance on the Iranian uprising (and the government crackdown about to intensify):
1) America is or has been evil, so it should do little or nothing in the world. (Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, etc.)
2) Obama is just a cautious guy who avoids risk at all costs. (Iran is the pirate “crisis” writ large, with Obama silent until someone else steps up and does something.)
A variant of this theory is:
3) Obama has no idea what to do about Iran, and he knows it. (He remembers that a few years ago he was but an unknown state senator in Illinois.)
4) Obama is bold when it comes to domestic policy but considers anything that happens in a foreign country an unwelcome distraction. (His view of the Presidency is high on domestic policy and low on foreign policy.)
5) Obama can’t be in favor of democracy because Bush was for it. (Having been elected as the anti-Bush, he must remain so.)
Update: President Obama on Saturday called on the Iranian government to “stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people.”