Ezra Klein believes that the viral impact of the Ahmadinejad forum at Columbia could be far more devastating than years of isolation and vilification by the U.S. government:
He’s not being feared. He’s being laughed at. Imagine how the Iranian people feel seeing these clips (and they’re seeing them). Imagine how the rest of the Iranian government feels being made to look so foolish — and all for this jester’s dreams of personal aggrandizement.
Quite so.
Indeed, my initial reaction at watching the exchange last night was that it was almost cruel to invite someone to campus and subject him to this sort of abuse at the hands of his host. Given that confrontation was the pre-announced intent of the event — with even the gist of the questions provided in advance — it was kosher. Still, it’s almost tough to watch. It was the classic battle of wits with an unarmed man.
