Left I on the News

Rosa Brooks today discusses the faux-bravery of Columbia President Lee Bollinger's "introduction" of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and notes that real bravery would involve giving a similar introduction to another President (guess which one) for whom this would be even more appropriate:

"You, quite simply, [are] ridiculous. You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated....I doubt you will have the intellectual courage to answer [our] questions...I do expect you to exhibit the fanatical mind-set that characterizes so much of what you say and do....Your preposterous and belligerent statements...led to your party's defeat in the [last] elections."

She also compares Ahmadinejad's willingness to face a hostile audience with Bush's:

This week, a global audience saw Iran's "petty and cruel dictator," as Bollinger called him, courteously parrying questions from hostile students -- something viewers won't see our democratically elected president doing.

So fine, let's congratulate ourselves for showing Iran just how many freedoms we have in America. But when we get done congratulating ourselves on our fancy freedoms, let's figure out why we can't be bothered to put them to use.

Update: Gotta' love it: just heard that Ahmadinejad has invited George Bush to come to Tehran and speak at an Iranian university. Maybe he read Brooks' column!