Comments Posted By Anonymous Liberal
Displaying 1 To 2 Of 2 Comments
THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO COLUMBIA
With all due respect (because I think you're a reasonable person), I think you severely underestimate Ahmadinejad. He's not an idiot. Quite the contrary, he's a savvy politician who has become very skilled at baiting American leaders and pundits into doing and saying things that increase his profile and benefit him domestically. When Khatami was president, you couldn't read anything about him that didn't mention how totally powerless he was, that the Mullahs controlled everything. But in an effort to portray the Iranian threat in a maximalist terms, right-wingers have essentially elevated Ahmadinejad to the level of dictator (Hitler! Stalin!). This has made him seem like a much more important figure than he actually is, which has helped him politically.
Similarly, the fact that so many American pundits and politicians are absolutely flipping out about the possibility of Ahmadenijad being allowed to lay a wreath at Ground Zero or speak in an open forum just plays into Ahmadinejad's hand. It validates the arguments that he makes domestically, that Americans are hypocrites, that they look down on all muslims, that they disrespect Iran, etc. Even Iranians who don't like Ahmadinejad (and there are many) are probably offended by the response his visit is generating. They know Iran had nothing to do with 9/11, and they likely don't appreciate their head of state being treated as if he and his country were somehow responsible for those events.
Ahmadenijad likes to bait American conservatives into overreacting. When they do so, they make America look like a country filled with anti-Muslim yahoos and he benefits politically.
The way to deal with Ahmadinejad is to marginalize him, not to make a big deal out of everything he does.
Comment Posted By Anonymous Liberal On 23.09.2007 @ 11:54
MAN, IT'S A BITCH SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER...EVEN WHEN YOU'RE NOT
Let's face it. When it's the other side being skewered with their heroes, it's satire. When it's our side and our heroes being made to look foolish, it's dumb, mean, etc.
Comment Posted By Anonymous Liberal On 2.05.2006 @ 12:29
That said, Colbert's speech was actually quite mild. Imagine if a speaker at the dinner had simply read the real wolrd new to Bush. Now that would have been embarrassing for him.
