Pure Bushism, working like a charm:

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's spy chief used just two words to respond to White House ridicule of last week's presidential election: "Thank you." His sarcasm was barely hidden. The backfire on Washington was more evident.

The sharp barbs from President Bush were widely seen in Iran as damaging to pro-reform groups because the comments appeared to have boosted turnout among hard-liners in Friday's election -- with the result being that an ultraconservative now is in a two-way showdown for the presidency....

Bush described the election as an exercise in futility because Iran's real power rests with the non-elected Islamic clerics, who can override the president and parliament....

On Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the election shows that the country is out of step with democratic reforms in the Middle East....

The unexpectedly strong turnout -- nearly 63 percent -- produced a true surprise in the No. 2 finish of hard-line Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He will face the top finisher, moderate statesman Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a Friday runoff....

The president's words sounded too much like the pre-war rhetoric against Saddam, and many on-the-fence voters were shocked into action, said Abdollah Momeni, a political affairs expert at Tehran University....

Bush thinks geopolitics is like a Hollywood B-movie -- at a certain point the good guys start kicking ass, and from that point on, no one good ever gets hurt and evil just goes on an inexorable decline. The dumb SOB is still waiting for that turning point to come in Iraq. He thinks it can't help but happen -- it's inevitable, because the Good people are riled up against the Evil people, which is, in his view, all it takes.