Kamangir (Archer)

Having the reputation of being a military commander, Ahmadinejad tried very hard to show a moderate and popular picture of himself in the last days before the presidential election. When he was elected to fight with Rafsanjani in the second round, it was obvious that he needed to draw a clear line between himself and what many rumors were talking about. The serious support of Basij at the time was obviously making people suspicious that his very first decision would be to face sensitive social matters such as the way people wear. So, he pushed very hard and used a very convincing tone in his interviews. He blamed the sources of power for investing on giving a distorted image of him to the public.
The cellular phone service in Iran may be expensive, but SMS has found its way in the life of modern Iranian youth. It was through the very same service that people talked about what would happen to the country if Ahmadinejad took the power. The messages, some of which were not very polite, were openly suggesting his “rule” in many not very so obvious effects. For example, a message circulated after he won the election related the epidemic of Cholera to Ahmadinejad’s visit to Amir Kabir dam, Tehran’s drinking water source. The idea was that the infection has come from his not very clean socks.
Between the two rounds Ahmadinejad was invited by a group of members of parliament to describe his main policies. Answering to a question regarding the rumors that he will force the so called Islamic values if he wins he mentioned (see),

These are not the topics of our discussion. I am against the country’s wealth being used by a few families. I will cut the hands of the power mafia and I am ready to be killed for this. Oil should come to people’s pocket (his sentence literally means “oil should come to people’s table”)…

بحث‌هاي ما اينها نيست. شما صحنه اصلي بحث ما با خودتان را منحرف مي‌كنيد. من مخالف رانت‌خواري و استيلاي خانوادگي بر ثروت كشور هستم. من دست مافياي قدرت و قبيله را از نفت كوتاه خواهم كرد و جانم را به پاي آن خواهم گذاشت. نفت بايد بر سر سفره‌هاي مردم باشد. بحث بر سر بي‌عدالتي، تخريب كرامت انسان‌ها و توسعه فقر و فساد است. بياييد در اين موارد گفت‌وگو كنيم. حرف‌هاي من خيلي روشن است. اگر در كانديداي خود نكات مثبتي مي‌بينيد ما دست‌بوس و مخلص هستيم.»

It was June 2005. He won the election. To my understanding, mostly because the nation believed that he will be there for them. They liked the picture which was he drew of himself.
As time passed, Ahmadinejad more and more tried the popular posture while the news from beneath are showing serious flaws in his administration. Furthermore, there are shocking news that he is actually deliberately doing misconduct. For example, he has reportedly sent a letter to the parliament’s speaker asking him to stop a bill which make the reserve account a temporary loan. In this way, the government would not be able to withdraw as much cash as they want with out returning the money. I do not have economic knowledge but I know that there is a serious problem when Ahmadinejad threatens the speaker to “announce the decision as parliament sabotaging the government’s efforts” (see).
When couple of months passed and the average Iranian did not feel any economic enhancement, the press gently asked Ahmadinejad about his promise to bring oil to people’s pocket. Another important aspect of Ahmadinejad is that he likes talking to crowds more than he liked talking to the press. In his second news conference reporters asked him about the promise. He replied (see),

I never told that [I will bring oil to people's pocket]. Shargh newspaper quoted me saying that and I did not deny. However, using the reserve for provinces and spreading the available resources for the whole country has a similar meaning.

به گزارش خبرنگار سیاسی مهر، خبرنگار روزنامه “شرق” دیگر پرسشگر این کنفرانس، با بیان اینکه بحث اصلی دولت شما آوردن نفت به سر سفره مردم بود چندی پیش شما طرحی را پیشهاد کردید Ú©Ù‡ نفت ارزان را به کشورهای فقیر بفروشید، Ù…ÛŒ خواستم از شما بپرسم آیا در پروژه اول به نتیجه ای رسیدید Ú©Ù‡ این پیشنهاد را مطرح کردید Ú©Ù‡ رئیس جمهور پاسخ داد: من چنین شعاری را نداده بودم، روزنامه شرق از قول من نوشت Ú©Ù‡ من هم آن را
تکذیب نکردم، تمام جهت گیری های دولت این است که منابع نفتی در بدنه مردم توزیع شود. اینکه از حساب ذخیره ارزی برای استانها و تولید و سرمایه گذاری و خدمات و.. اختصاص می دهیم و عادلانه منابع را در کل کشور توزیع می کنیم و سهام عدالت می دهیم، معنایش همان است.

It was April 2006. To my understanding, when a high ranking politician, like a president, does not deny something quoted from him, it means that is the meaning he has implied. I call this transparency. Even forgetting this, I have read the news that he promised to bring oil to people’s pocket. So, to my best knowledge, he is a liar.