Mahmoud's in a New York State of Mind

Iranian "President" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects American ideas — all of our ideas, that is, but nuclear fusion.

When Ahmadinejad told a crowd at Columbia University in 2007 that the United States must investigate "who was truly involved" in 9/11, students may have confused the speech with ethnic studies class.

There should be no confusion.

It's bad enough this birdbrained troglodyte was walking the streets of America's greatest city again this week, a place teeming with women, Christians, Jews and gays. Ahmadinejad has something to offend all. Holocaust denier. Misogynist. Religious fanatic. Terrorist enabler. Homophobic inquisitor — though Ahmadinejad does claim, "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

Yes, Ahmadinejad delivered an anti-Semitic lecture at the United Nations that could have been used at a battalion reunion of the Schutzstaffel. But let's not forget he also believes "a world without America … is attainable."

So why isn't everyone troubled?

Why did CNN's Larry King, who nabbed Ahmadinejad for an interview, shower the Iranian strongman with queries that wouldn't have rattled Elizabeth Taylor?

Why does the apologist fringe of the American left continue to assail U.S. policy rather than a belligerent Iran? Why aren't high-minded left-winger politicos as insulted by Ahmadinejad as they are by, I don't know, Sarah Palin?

Instead, Ahmadinejad felt welcome. He spent a couple of hours schmoozing at New York's Grand Hyatt with representatives of the American "peace movement."

Jodie Evans, co-founder of the anti-war group CodePink, actually had a sit-down with Ahmadinejad. "It's rare," she explained, "for a head of state to take time during an official U.N. visit to meet with the peace community, especially in a situation where the host government — represented by the Bush administration — is so hostile."

Human Rights Watch reports that Ahmadinejad, when he's not torturing dissidents, "has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." There is no CodePink in Tehran for Ahmadinejad to sit down with.

Then again, CodePink's mission is to shut down the free expression of those it disagrees with, so perhaps the two parties had a congenial discussion.

But back to planet Earth …

Palin, in a speech she could not deliver in New York, accused Ahmadinejad of dreaming "of being an agent in a 'Final Solution' — the elimination of the Jewish people." True. Barack Obama condemned the speech in strong language and pointed out that the "threat from Iran's nuclear program is grave." True, as well.

This is a stark reversal from Obama's naive earlier assertion that he would meet with Ahmadinejad without any preconditions. As he well knows, no matter who wins in November, Iran can't be ignored.

The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Tehran's nuclear activities present "a decidedly bleak picture." Most observers believe Ahmadinejad is stonewalling inspectors while he works on a nuclear bomb and missile warheads.

This report, incidentally, wasn't issued by bellicose Rovian Bushites hellbent on waging war for amusement and oil, but a contingent of twinkle-toed worldly optimists.

How exactly will a new administration stop Iran if Iran continues to ignore diplomacy and sanctions, as they have for the past six years? How will the world sanction Ahmadinejad when the U.N. Security Council includes Russia, a nation that has done its best to allow Iran's nuclear program to continue?

No candidate has clued us in yet.

So it's no wonder Ahmadinejad feels so comfy in New York.

David Harsanyi is a columnist at The Denver Post and the author of "Nanny State." Visit his Web site at www.DavidHarsanyi.com. To find out more about David Harsanyi and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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