But that would have involved thinking in the U.S. and it is not to be expected everywhere.
At the Columbia University appearance, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the widely accepted view of the 9/11 attacks and defended the right to dispute the reality of the Holocaust.
Thankfully, there were edgy moments due to a sharp individual at Columbia University. Columbia President Lee Bollinger challenged Ahmadinejad by stating: "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."
Finally, one American academic who does not willingly swallow the swill of every Islamist who appears to the West and claims to be misunderstood. "You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad, according to news reports, smiled at first but appeared increasingly agitated, decrying the "insults" and "unfriendly treatment." Welcome to free speech Ahmadinejad.
Audience members took Ahmadinejad to school over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.
"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." I don't think hiding behind religion will work in the West.
During a question and answer session, Ahmadinejad appeared tense and unsmiling, in contrast to more relaxed interviews and appearances earlier in the day.
Ahmadinejad reiterated his desire to visit the 9/11 ground zero but he is on record questioning whether al-Qaida was responsible.
This might be his Holocaust II.
Asked about executions of homosexuals in Iran, Ahmadinejad said the judiciary executed violent criminals and high-level drug dealers by comparing them to microbes eliminated through medical treatment. He said: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."
The audience roared derisively.
President Bush said Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America."
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