"His frequent speeches before large crowds all across the country are full of obtuse circular arguments about good and evil, and in interviews and small gatherings, like ones he has held for academics and journalists when he visits the United Nations in New York, he answers questions with questions, ending with a joyous smile that reads as a distinct putdown. His logic is seldom convincing, but then he cares little about what elites and experts think of him. He knows that the poor masses like his folksy style. Though he may seem comical, to many in Iran he comes across as daring and confident. They like his audacity, and especially the way he stands up to the elites, belittling their education, their wealth and their blue blood."
-- Iranian scholar Vali Nasr, on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
This was posted over at Andrew Sullivan's blog and, as he states so perfectly, proves that fundamentalist politics -- whether Middle Eastern Muslim or American Christian -- must always be confronted with the relentless application of logic and reason.
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