Democrats, led by Teresa Heinz Kerry and Senator Clinton, are criticizing the Bush administration for not saying more to condemn Iranian President Ahmadinejad's comments denying the Holocaust. That's fine. I'm sure I would support full-throated condemnation from every podium in the country of the Iranian President.

But I would also like to hear an explanation from Senator Clinton and Teresa's husband as to why they forced poor Senator Wyden to go forward and announce that Democrats would block a call for democratic elections in Iran. The New York Sun and Regime Change in Iran have the details. Here's the Sun's story:

Senator Santorum, a Republican of Pennsylvania, drafted the resolution after a December 14 speech in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a "myth" and suggested Israel be relocated to Europe, Canada, or Alaska. In its original form, the statement condemned the remarks, demanded an apology, and supported efforts by "the people of Iran to exercise self-determination" and hold a national referendum with oversight by international observers.

When Mr. Santorum moved to introduce the resolution last Friday, Senator Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon, registered an unusual objection. According to the Congressional Record, Mr. Wyden told Mr. Santorum on the Senate floor that he was objecting to the resolution because his Democratic colleagues in the Senate had asked him too. Mr. Wyden did not say who asked him to issue the objection.

"While I personally am vehemently opposed to the statements that have been made by the president of Iran," Mr. Wyden said, "I have been asked by the members on this side of the aisle to object, and I do so object."

Mr. Wyden's office did not return repeated calls yesterday to explain who suggested that he object to the Iran resolution or why he was chosen to register the complaint. And a spokesman for Mr. Santorum, Robert Traynham, said he did not know who raised the objection either. "We're still trying to see who those Democrats are," he said. An Internet blog devoted to promoting Democracy in Iran, "Regime Change Iran," detailed the flap over the resolution. It simply said that "Senate Democrats" objected to the resolution

Come on reporters, do your job. Find out why the Democrats don't want to call for self-determination in Iran.

The blog, Regime Change Iran, is asking people to call Senator Lugar's office to demand hearings on Iran. They also have a great roundup of all the news related to Iran.