The blogosphere is buzzing about Ahmadinejad’s speech to the Columbia University community. Despite the widespread outrage at Columbia’s invitation–and despite New York City’s refusal to allow Ahmadinejad to visit Ground Zero–the Iranian president was given a massive forum to broadcast his horrifying views. Not only did he insinuate that the U.S. government is a terrorist organization, but he also said that more “research” is needed on the Holocaust. Oh, and homosexuals don’t exist in Iran (perhaps because the Iranian government has openly executed them) and Iranian women are some of the most free women in the world. While we must give Columbia president Lee Bollinger a tiny bit of credit for calling Ahmadinejad “a petty and cruel dictator,” Ahmadinejad should not have been given this platform–and countless bloggers agree. The writers at contentions have been outraged from the start. Gabriel Schoenfeld discusses Columbia Dean Coatsworth’s admission that he would have invited Hitler to the university, and states: “The university’s invitation to the genocidal aspirant Ahmadinejad is repugnant on many grounds. The outrage committed by Dean Coatsworth upon the dead of World War II…staggers the imagination.” And Max Boot brings to light the fact that “Iran is now escalating its war against the U.S. and our democratic allies”–and we can see the smirk on his face as he writes: “But perhaps Columbia University’s students and faculty can convince Ahmadinejad of the error of his ways when he shows up to speak at their campus.” Yeah, right. Michelle Malkin chronicles “Mahmoudapalooza” from NYC, noting: “Don’t let the warm embrace of some of the Columbia University students fool you. We saw plenty of disgusted Columbia alumni and families who were not impressed.” Malkin and fellow Hot Air blogger Bryan also vent about not being allowed inside Columbia to hear the speech. Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters is baffled by Bollinger’s introduction to Ahmadinejad: “What purpose does it serve to supply a ‘petty and cruel dictator’ with a megaphone? Rational people would advise the exact opposite–to shun and isolate petty and cruel dictators, who certainly have plenty of other outlets for their rantings.” According to Deebow at Black Five, “The funniest part of his speech, at least for me, is that Ahmawhackjob says he does not have any ‘gay people’ in Iran. This elicited quite a guffaw from the crowd, but obviously no real outrage. They sure have a lot of outrage saved up for the US Military and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the banning of ROTC from their campus.” And Meryl Yourish makes the interesting point that “Ahmadinejad did not respond fully to a single question asked by either the National Press Club, or anyone at Columbia…he lies, denies, and redirects the question.” Hugh Hewitt is equally disgusted with Columbia. He remarks, “Columbia…played a role of accessory to many lies today, delivered by a killer of our troops.” Not to mention, Columbia got punked! But luckily, as a Columbia student told Little Green Footballs, only 20-30 of the 600 present applauded Ahmadinejad’s response to Bollinger (see the speech at Hot Air). For day-after coverage, check out 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America’s coverage of New York City newspaper headlines. Just for laughs: Frank J. at IMAO predicted some of Ahmadinejad’s responses to questions…and unfortunately, he wasn’t far off. And, does Columbia have a new school?
