As President Obama backpedals away from his earlier, softer stance on the brutal Iranian crackdown of dissidents, he is leaving the door open for direct nuclear proliferation negotiations with Tehran.

Obama has been criticized for his weak response to the violent post-election chaos. The president defended himself by saying that anything stronger would result in accusations from Iran that we were interfering with their affairs.

The concession was lost on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who demanded an apology from Obama for “meddling”. Obama refused, and must be asking himself if kid gloves and soft diplomacy are enough to keep nuclear weapons out of Ahmadinejad's hands.