Mr. Nice Guy Ahmadinejad

Tonight was the night. Mike Wallace's interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad aired on 60 Minutes.

It was incredible, on so many different levels.

First, let's talk wardrobe, appearance, and voice.

Ahmadinejad was dressed in that same jacket he always wears. It must be his lucky jacket. He smiled frequently, his teeth remarkably, unnaturally white. His voice sounded quiet and gravelly, like Al Pacino in Godfather II.

Wallace was clearly a sympathetic ear. He willingly accommodated Ahmadinejad by using his lexicon. For example, he spoke of the Zionists, not the Israelis or the Jews.

About President Bush, Ahmadinejad stated, "He can save the American economy without killing people, without occupation, without threats."

He was saddened to hear that 1 percent of the total U.S. population are in prisons. He talked about 45 million people not having adequate health care. That makes him sad. Boo hoo.

I'm certain Ahmadinejad has been visiting the CODEPINK and Amnesty International websites. I'm sure he reads Michael Moore's ramblings and gets ideas from Daily Kos.

When Wallace read the portions of Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter to President Bush, the passages referring to Jesus, the ones that lecture Bush on his faith and urge him, "out of respect for the teachings of Christ to be a force for peace instead of war," I wanted to vomit.

Talk about cherry-picking!

Ahmadinejad said that Bush should love the people, love all people. This from the man calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, the man denying the Holocaust, the man unable to open his mouth without making a threat against Israel (unless he's chatting with Mike Wallace).


Ahmadinejad had a new message for the President.


"Please give him this message, sir. 'Those who refuse to accept an invitation to good will not have a good ending or fate,'" said Ahmadinejad.

Wallace asked, "What does that mean?"

"Well, you see, his approval rating is dropping every day."

HAHAHAHA

I think Howard Dean prepped Ahmadinejad for the interview.

When an aide passed a note to Ahmadinejad to adjust his jacket, Wallace asked him if he's a vain man.

He responded, "You have to look your best."

Wallace said, "Let me assure you, you look your best."

GAG!

The two men laughed and joked.

Ahmadinejad complained about "the make up of the American administration, the behavior of the American administration." He charged the American government with wanting to build an empire. He insisted that the U.S. doesn't want to live side by side in peace with other nations.

"It is very clear to me, they have to change their behavior and everything will be resolved."

Wallace got the sign from Ahmadinejad's aides that it was time to end the interview. He said he had many more questions. Ahmadinejad said that he had other appointments.

Wallace claimed that none could be more important than this.

Ahmadinejad put an end to the exchange by saying, "It's time for the night prayers."

He prays? For what? The death of Israelis?

Last question--

Wallace: You have a special unit of martyr-seekers in your revolutionary guard. They claim they have 52,000 trained suicide bombers ready to attack American and British targets if America should attack Iran.

Ahmadinejad: So, are you expecting the Americans to threaten us and we sit idly by and watch them with our hands tied?

Wallace: And have Americans threatened you?

Ahmadinejad: I do hope that Americans will give up this practice of threatening other nations so that you are not forced to ask me such questions. I wish you well and further success.

Wallace: Thank you, sir.

It was all laughter and smiles and handshakes.

Interview over, but I was left wanting more. I think that it was extremely short on depth.


CBS opted for a feel good interview, Ahmadinejad the Nice.

I really was disgusted with the way the interview was edited. I suspect the more controversial stuff didn't make it on network TV. To say it was a shallow segment is putting it mildly. Ahmadinejad wasn't really challenged. At times, I would say he was coddled by Wallace.

It made me sick to hear Ahmadinejad accuse America of threatening other nations, when this guy makes a living calling for Armageddon.

If CBS and Mike Wallace wanted the Ahmadinejad interview to be an anti-Bush, anti-American propaganda piece, they succeeded.

Well done, CBS.


(Note: Originally, I did not see the first segment of the interview. I was under the impression that the second segment was all that aired on CBS. As a result, in my initial posting, I questioned why Wallace didn't raise a number of controversial issues with Ahmadinejad. In fact, Wallace did address some of those issues in the first segment. It was my mistake.)
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At Ahmadinejad's request, C-SPAN will air the entire interview tomorrow night.

The cable public affairs net will air the 60 Minutes edited version, followed by the full 90-minute interview, to give viewers a window on what is left on the cutting room floor.

It will be very enlightening to compare what 60 Minutes selected to show the audience with the entirety of the material.

I guess Ahmadinejad wasn't happy with his 15 minutes of fame on 60 Minutes. He wants the world to see all 90 minutes. Apparently, he is a vain man.

In the end, I suspect C-SPAN's broadcast may tell much more about the real CBS than the real Ahmadinejad.


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Check out Ahmadinejad's new blog.

Try it in English. Click on the second little flag.

What's wild is that it's open to comments and questions. You can choose a nickname and create an account.

I think I'll pass.