Oh, the Supreme Nutjob was annoying and a reminder of why we have JDAMs, to be sure.
But Scott Pelley redeemed the honor of CBS by refusing to repeat the shameful Dan Rather suck-up interview with Saddam prior to the war. Pelley treated Ahmadinejad the way any reporter would have treated any American politician, including President Bush, who didn't give a direct answer to a question. Pelley kept rephrasing the question and going back for an answer.
Ahmadinejad got fed up with this approach, telling Pelley:
Are you an American politician? Am I to look at you as an American politician or a reporter? This is what the American officials are claiming.
Hah! Ahmadinejad was clearly shocked and expected a very friendly interview from an American journalist. Later, he even implied Pelley was a CIA agent, saying:
Well, thank you for that. You are like a CIA investigator. And you are . . .
The interview is worth reading or watching, and consists of what you would expect of a certified loon dressed up in a leisure suit.
Victor Hanson notes the Leftist talking points that Ahmadinejad spewed out:
Scott Pelley did a solid job interviewing Ahmadinejad tonight on 60 Minutes. Two things were apparent from his non-answers: (1) he simply regurgitates American left-wing talking points about Katrina, weapons companies, wiretaps, etc...(2) his rantings and non-sequiturs make a mockery out of the Columbia claim that he will face cross-examination and must explain himself in front of a tough university audience. He won't.
He simply lies, evades, and smirks that he has found yet another Western media service for his "We don't want a bomb" message while thousands of centrifuges work overtime. His denials remind of an earlier protest, "This is last territorial claim which I have to make in Europe."
Ahmadinejad probably expected his fluency in Leftspeak to leave a halo around his head that would stun Pelley into mindless Ratheresque compliments. Or maybe Ahmadinejad figured he needed to save that skill for Columbia University's more pliant student audience.
More seriously, it took come courage for Scott Pelley, doing the interview in Tehran, to persist in his serious questions. Westerners have been tossed in jail for less. I hope Pelley is out of Iran before Ahmadinejad's plane lifts off from New York for the return flight home.
Heck, while I hoped Pelley could had gone Columbia to ask more questions, Ahmadinejad was not welcomed with open arms:
Ahmadinejad smiled as Columbia President Lee Bollinger took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, and Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.
"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause.
He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant.
"When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history."
Ahmadinejad rose, also to applause, and after a religious invocation, said Bollinger's opening was: "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."
"There were insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," Ahmadinejad said, accusing Bollinger of offering "unfriendly treatment" under the influence of the U.S. press and politicians.
Good for Bollinger. I don't think Columbia should have let this thug speak there. But given the appearance, this introduction at least prevents the mullahs from using a fawning tape of an introduction to imply Americans love Ahmadinejad.
I hope the rest of Ahmadinejad's stay was just as friendly. Perhaps it will disabuse him of the apparent notion that he is loved by our masses and that our people are misinformed about his monstrous regime and murderous ideology.
Ahmadinejad could use more of this shock therapy.
UPDATE:
Iran's government controlled press reports that Ahmadinejad was warmly welcomed by the audience.
Columbia should make the actual video of the event available online and our government should broadcast it to Iran and the Moslem world so that this lie won't stand.
