The controversial appearance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University has come and gone with a truly sorry performance by all sides.
Ahmadinejad himself reportedly came off as you would expect, questioning 9/11 and the Holocaust and avoiding answering direct questions. School President Lee Bollinger proved an inhospitable host, calling his guest a "petty and cruel dictator."
Lot's of problems here.
You've I'm sure heard the objections over his appearance. That there is no need to give this guy a soapbox here on American soil, that it would be like inviting Hitler to speak during World War II, and that the school is happy to have an enemy of the United States on campus but not the ROTC. The response from university officials has been that it's a free speech issue and that he will reveal his true nature.
As it turned out, Bollinger apparently decided to appease his critics by appearing tough with Ahmadinejad. But really, all he did was insult a head of state who was his guest. If you're going to invite someone to your place, you may as well treat him graciously. May as well not invite him in the first place.
Second, did Ahmadinejad reveal his true nature? Sure, maybe he did. But didn't we know his true nature already? Was there anything left to learn about him? Not really. Maybe Columbia students still did need to learn Ahmadinejad's true nature. Maybe they didn't know enough about his record and his outlook on the world. That probably says far more about the quality of education and quality of students at Columbia than Lee Bollinger would want us to know.
---
If the elections were held today, Democratic candidates would win both houses of Congress and the White House with ease. However, the elections are more than a year away, and a lot can happen in the next 13 months-plus.
There are two things that could ruin Democrat plans. First, if things improve in Iraq as much as President Bush thinks, and the economy manages to remain on track. Second, even if those two issues remain muddled, the Dems could give it away through shear immaturity.
First, the infamous MoveOn.org advertisement in the New York Times about Gen. David Petraeus, which has already been brought up in this blog and millions of others. Most recently, a flap arose over an "editorial" in the Colorado State University student newspaper that contained all of four words: "Taser this, fuck Bush."
Uh, whatever, dude. While it's publication generated something of an uproar, the sentiment brings only a shrug of the shoulders. So you don't like Bush. Okay. Editors of the paper claim they ran a number of more eloquent anti-Bush editorials that were ignored. That means the student body simply has folks who don't share their opinion. If that frustrates them, if they're stunned that impressive prose does not sway the feelings of the student body, then they're probably not cut out for editorial writing when they graduate.
I have a five-word opinion piece for them: "Get used to it, dudes!"
For Democrats, these episodes have a way of raising their ugly heads every so often. The party still does not claim anywhere near a majority in this country, so they need to attract independents to win elections. Two displays of immaturity can be excused away as coming from the fringe. But if they keep happening, especially next year, then they'll reduce the party's chances of victory in November 2008.
---
Blast from the past on Clinton Inc.
And not to leave Republicans out: the major GOP presidential candidates spoke at a major party gathering in Michigan and put everyone to sleep, particularly Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
