On the surface, little seems to have changed in the Iranian capital since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in August. The streets still bustle with traffic. Women's Islamic dress is no more conservative, though it is no longer drenched in the summer's hot color, pink. In cafes, boys and girls sip the latest coffee concoctions and listen to Niaz, an Iranian band, and even Pink Floyd.
.......
In his first five months in power, Ahmadinejad has carved an image of himself as a religious extremist and political radical. To many in the most conservative circles, this is a welcome change. But in Tehran's usually hectic bazaar, merchants complain of stagnant business. Inside homes, families wonder whether they need to brace for stiffer economic sanctions or international isolation.
To both insiders and outsiders, the political face of Iran seems to have drastically changed. Gone is the well-groomed, rosy-cheeked reformist President Mohammad Khatami, who coined the phrase "dialogue of civilizations." Ahmadinejad, draped in a Palestinian kaffiyeh, the scarf that he has appropriated to signal his struggle against perceived injustice, has stirred international ire with virulent anti-Israel rhetoric. Meanwhile, his habit of immersing politics in sacred Islamic tradition has chafed critics within Iran.
"He is not qualified to be the president of Iran. His words so far leave no doubt to his inadequacy to the job," fretted a 38-year-old graphic designer who identified herself only as Shahnaz B., expressing a sentiment common among Iranians these days. "The U.S. and Israel will only take advantage of his stances to further their own agendas on Iran."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ahmad2jan02,0,2459632.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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