With reports of violence in Iran getting worse, that type of warning from Obama may, in fact, not be doing much to reassure -- or protect -- the people taking to the streets of Tehran. But the notion that Republicans are suddenly the defenders of progressive Persia is a little hard to swallow. Just two years ago, McCain was joking -- and singing -- about bombing the very cities where the protests are now erupting. The neoconservative foreign policy establishment -- the folks who brought you such successful hits as the war in Iraq -- have been urging aggressive military action against Iran for years. . .

"This needs to be organic, and if the Iranian people desire greater liberties, it needs to flow organically from the Iranian people -- and it does not need to be America-sponsored," the foreign policy aide said. If the GOP really wants to use the situation in Iran to bash the White House, expect them to keep the pressure up for it to become exactly that -- an America-sponsored democracy movement. Just don't expect Obama to listen to them quite yet.