Juan Cole has the 411 on Khatami:
Khatami has many flaws. He is at base a Khomeinist and so supports a regime that has a poor record on human rights. He may have high principles himself, but so far he has been relatively ineffectual in getting them implemented. His unwillingness to risk a crisis by pushing hard liners too far may contribute to social peace, but it also gives the hard liners a veto on reform.
So he and Obama would get along, right?
2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan