Politically Incorrect

I watched Mike Wallace's interview with the president of Iran on CSPAN last night. I haven't been more depressed by the state of journalism or the role of the media in my life.

I was completely astounded at Mike Wallace's blatant disrespect and condenscention toward this man, who is the leader of a remarkable, albeit struggling, country. Wallace treated him like a second class citizen, as if he was doing President Ahmadinejad a favor by interviewing him when in reality it was President Ahmadinejad who was doing Wallace a favor by granting him an interview.

Wallace asked if after 26-27 years of not working with the United States Iran might like to re-establish that relationship. President Ahmadinejad countered with, "It was not Iran who ended that relationship," to which Wallace said, "Answer the question. It's a yes or no question..." Is it? He answered it by saying it was the United States' policy that terminated a relationship with the United States, so it's not up to Iran to re-establish that relationship. Beyond that, President Ahmadinejad sent Bush an 18-page letter to open those lines of communication, and the "leader of the free world" dismissed it. He turned his back on another country's leader, which is horrifying, embarassing, and shameful behavior that shouldn't be tolerated from the President of the United States. Ignoring a letter, an act of ignorance, and then suggesting that its author is the one not cooperating or working to rebuild a relationship is asinine.

President Ahmadinejad is as blind about his country as Bush is about ours, but we can learn something about ourselves by listening to other country's opinions of us. President Ahmadinejad pointed out two obvious shortcomings in the interview... One percent of the United States' citizens are behind bars, and we still don't have healthcare for our people.

Neither leaders is effective, neither truly cares about their people, neither wants to work toward peace and understanding and compassion. Both are caught up in their own political swordfight, preaching tolerance while at the same time cloaking their women or feeding their corporate fathers while their country's children starve to death (or eat to death in our case).

I'm sure that most people who watched Wallace's interview on 60 Minutes were proud as papas of him for asking "the hard questions," but I think Wallace should be fired -- for disrespecting a foreign leader the way he did and for letting his own American audience down. How many times has Bush or Cheney sat down with Wallace and answered the tough questions? How many times have our own leaders been called to the post, talked down to and been pushed into actually answering the question? (No, Condoleeza Rice on Larry King Live and FOX News interviews don't count.) Our media has failed us as much as our government, as much as our religion, as much as our economy.

I understand that Wallace was granted an interview and then brushed off for a few days because of President Ahmadinejad's other obligations (you know, running a country, keeping the world from believing his country is part of an Axis of Evil, dealing with the Lebanon-Israel crisis and trying to keep the war in Iraq from spreading to south to his country), and that must have been frustrating, but Wallace's interviewing should be condemned, his attitude should be checked and his machismo and arrogance should have been left at the door. You know, I think what pissed me off the most was how much he reminded me of Bush with his one-liners, his self-amsued smirk, the power glint popping out of his mirky eyes, and his narrow thought process. He didn't want to understand. He wanted to condemn. That's despicable. That's un-American.