The Devil's Playbook

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

For someone who is so avowedly anti-American, Iranian President and strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took a page out of the Devil's Playbook this past Monday.

I used to joke that when the economy was bad, the best thing for a leader to do was to start a war... that gets people together and it takes their minds off of their wretched condition. If you can't start a war, racism and nationalism will always do. It worked for Adolf Hitler and has been working for a score of politicians in both the Democratic and Republican parties for ages... not to mention in countries around the world.

On Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said countries that are boycotting the United Nations Conference on Racism, which is currently underway in Switzerland, are doing so out of "arrogance and selfishness". After his speech at the conference sparked a mass walkout by EU diplomats, Ahmadinejad told reporters... "In our opinion, this arrogance and selfishness are the root cause of the problems of the world."

The conference has been boycotted by the United States, Israel, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, and Germany. I was kind of disappointed that President Obama declined to have the U.S. participate in the conference. I roundly criticized President Bush when he also refused to be a part of this conference a few years ago but, I digress. Now, getting back to my man, Mahmoud...

Following his speech, the Czech Republic announced that it would be withdrawing from the summit over his remarks on Israel and the Holocaust. Dozens of western representatives at the UN-sponsored Durban II Conference Against Racism rose from their chairs and walked out of the hall in Geneva as Ahmadinejad launched a tirade against the Israeli government.

The Iranian leader also blasted the United States for its invasion of Iraq. The conference turned chaotic when two protesters in rainbow wigs tossed red clown noses at Ahmadinejad as he began his speech with a Muslim prayer. A Jewish student group from France said they have been trying to convey the masquerade that this conference represents. Earlier Sunday, federal agents in Geneva escorted Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz away from the Geneva Hotel, where Ahmadinejad and Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz were meeting, after he declared plans to challenge the Iranian leader about his views on the Holocaust and Israel.

That's right Mahoud... Turn all the attention on someone else and take it off the fact that just months ago, students in your own country were protesting the sorry state of the economy under you. It's those damn Israeli's, isn't it? And, the United States too. Hell, it's the entire west!

Somewhere, Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh are taking notes... their Tea party seems to have come and gone without any serious repercussions to the Obama Administration. Do you wanna bet that in the coming months, President Obama will be attacked for his foreign policy, closing Gitmo, and making the world "free for terrorists again"? Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are already saying things to this effect.

I sat and watched that circus on TV, a few nights ago and I had to laugh. It doesn't matter if it's a Republican incumbant (pick one), a Democratic incumbant (President Lyndon B. Johnson and his Vietnam debacle), or an Islamic incumbant (again, pick one)... all of them play by the same rules and they all do the same things in the end. They play on nationalism, racism, and fear mongering. I guess it works.

People in Iran will see their leader being mocked and attacked by Westerners (which is not smart on their part either) and will rally around him. At least, that's what he's hoping they will do. I think people are getting more savvy politically and they're not going to go for the okey doke and the old banana in the tailpipe anymore. Leaders are not going to divert people's attention from the sorry job they are doing by appealing to hate and fear anymore. At least, that's what I'm hoping they will no longer be able to do. There are still some very gullible and stupid people in the world... I just hope they are not in the majority. I hope we can file the Devil's Playbook away one day soon.

I'll stop here and quote our former president, George W. Bush, by saying... "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... uh, er, uh, uh, uh... don't try to fool me again." Okay, that wasn't George W. Bush... that was Will Farrell playing Bush. It was funny, wasn't it?