It may be a slow news day in the U.S. but it definitely appears to be chaotic in Iran. So far the two blogs I've seen that appear to be following the developments fairly closely are http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/ and http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/.

I just got around to reading Juan Cole's blog, which Josh links to from the front page. Here's the link again: http://www.juancole.com/2009/06/stealing-iranian-election.html
Cole makes a good case for voter fraud. For example, Mousavi is reported to have lost in Tabriz, capital of Azerbaijan province, despite the fact he's from that province.
Cole also reports that Ahmadinejad is said to have won a majority in Tehran -- the heart of Mousavi's support. That conflicts with what I initially read, which was that Mousavi won there.
So there's definitely circumstantial evidence. But I have yet to hear an observer say, "X number of votes were counted, and Y is the number that election officials announced."

The White House has to deal with whoever emerges on top, and that looks almost certain to be Ahmadinejad. So they're right to be cautious.
You're absolutely right on CNN's default he-said/she-said approach. Interview people whose positions and agendas are obvious, get a few sound-bites, and forget about trying to factually inform your viewers.
Oh, and toss in a few of their emails as a sop. Pathetic.

exasperated sigh of agreement here!.......

On the Tabriz thing, I just ran across this short audio slideshow that Jon Lee Anderson did to go along with his April New Yorker article on Ahmadinejad. He went along on an Ahmadinejad visit to Tabriz seemed pretty impressed with the both Ahmadinejad's modus operandi and the reception he got:

The Prodigal Son

The New Yorker, April 13, 2009

This week in the magazine, Jon Lee Anderson writes about the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Here, Anderson narrates an audio slide show about Ahmadinejad’s visit to Tabriz, in northwest Iran. Photographs by Thomas Dworzak.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2009/04/13/090413_audioslideshow_ahmadinejad

51% doesn't sound so out of line to me after seeing that.

Whatever the case, I think it is good for people to bring skepticism to this, because even if the election was fixed, I do get the sense that most western reporters, experts, and commentators, even the best ones, get all their understanding from urbanites and elites, even their supposed understanding of the more rural population is filtered that way. And it can be dangerous to make judgments on other things on that basis.

Heck, you can find examples in this country, we have to have people like Thomas Frank write books like "What's The Matter with Kansas?" to explain a place like Kansas to us. I dare say many people who frequent this website have a hard time with places like Texas or Alabama to this day.... :-)

Mousavi has formally appealed the election result to the Council of Guardians, while asking supporters to keep their protests peaceful and legal. He's also asked permission to hold a march and rally (good luck with that).
At least that news suggests he is not, as reported, under house arrest.

Stuff like:

"From an emailer Salim: "This is beginning to mirror what I witnessed in the first revolution. When people start taking over military centers. There is report that a basiji center in Northern Tehran around Tajrish has been captured by the protesters. This would potentially mean weapons in hands of protesters. I'll let you know if I heard more."

Like I said. Way more serious but not sure if it's reliable info.