On Polls and Political Courage

One might pause at this because--"this would validate the 'evil one.'" I'm told that the President of Islam, if you will, wants to debate President Obama. "This is unthinkable," another school of thought might reply. It is "laughable."

No, in my opinion, it is something that Obama should consider doing for its universal educational value.

Yes, the conventional wisdom will say, "no way." But that is soooooo unoriginal, narrow-minded--even cowardly.

Bush toppled Gore in the debates so decisively that he won that first election in 2000 (with the help of Scalia and Company). He was a strong debater; yet he turned down Ahmadinejad's invitation to debate! "We will not be manipulated by this evil-doer," they would say.

I would say, "President Obama, this is an opportunity to advance your positive and strong agenda for our country and the whole inhabited earth. Think how educational such a debate would be, with maybe billions of people watching, hanging on every well-chosen word."

Would it be a fair debate? Yes. President Ahmadinejad has a Ph.d, I'm told, in electrical engineering and is an experienced classroom teacher; Obama has a law degree from Harvard and has passed every debate-test with flying colors. It would be a "fair" debate.

It took courage for the Iranian president to challenge our President; it will also take courage for Obama to accept the challenge. Now, who might moderate the debate? What would be the rules? Is our country the best location? We need to think about this. We might well be open to such a debate. All the "experts" are against the idea. But what do they know?