President Obama is hinting that, perhaps, he is beginning to understand the realities of the U.S. relationship with Iran.

I say hinting and perhaps because one never knows. It took him about 11 days to condemn the Iranian regime’s crackdown on peaceful protests — so I’m loathe to get too optimistic.

But there are signs that Obama might be waking up from his “Sesame Street” dreams of everyone talking out their problems on “Oprah.”

First, according to this story, the president dismissed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s demand that Obama apologize for U.S. “meddling” in the disputed election. This is a clear reversal, since Obama was oh so happy to apologize for the United States on practically every occasion before this one.

Mr. Obama said he doesn’t take seriously Mr. Ahmadinejad’s request for an apology for the U.S. meddling in the June 12 election. He also said Mr. Ahmadinejad should instead “think carefully” about his obligations to those beaten, shot and killed in the post-election marches.

“The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. We see it and we condemn it,” Mr. Obama said an East Room news conference after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Then there’s this story, where the president said the open “dialogue” he had been seeking with Iran is going to suffer as a result of the crackdown.

Continuing this week’s harsh rhetoric, Mr. Obama, after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said “direct dialogue” with Iran will suffer as a result of the beatings and killings of protesters, though he didn’t spell out exact consequences. He said he remains vigilant to see how events play out.

Mrs. Merkel went much further, demanding a recount of the votes and saying the international community must identify the victims and make Iran account for their treatment.

“Despite the government’s efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we con-demn it,” said Mr. Obama, though he continued to say Iran itself must decide the election results. “If the Iranian government desires the respect of the international community, then it must respect the rights – and heed the will – of its people.”

It’s about time the president began pointing out the consequences for Iran.

One has to wonder whether Obama is coming to these conclusions himself, or is it after meeting with other world leaders (German Chancellor Merkel) that he then sees the need to change his tune? Clearly they were out in front of the president — condemning the Iranian violence outright.

Now he’s playing catch-up. At least, it appears, that now he’s playing for the right team.