As I further consider the claims on Skypeland that Columbia University and/or the United States was not behaving properly when it brought up points of contention with Ahmadinejad during his visit, I believe there might have been other benefits to this. Aside from educating Iranians and others around the Middle East about American comportment and mores, and not giving him a free high-visibility platform to engage in hate speech and disingenous misrepresentations, there might be other advantages.
Apparently, according to some at least, Ahmadinejad is cushioned inside some sort of bubble or cocoon and does not realize the reaction of the world to his position. He believes that it is all American propaganda and that he is secretly loved and respected and that most of the world is swallowing his lies. However, seeing an academic institution, and especially a left-wing institution, rejecting him might be valuable. At Columbia, he had strong evidence that he is held in contempt and viewed widely as deceitful in a segment of the world, no matter what his own personal handlers and yess-men say.
I might also note that it was not super disrespectful at Columbia either. People were courteous, however they brought up uncomfortable subjects. He was not booed. He had a nice round of applause at several points while he talked. If people complain about this reception, they are living in a fantasy world...
Here is a radio broadcast discussing it on my favorite radio show, the Diane Rehm Show on NPR:
http://wamu.org/audio/dr/07/09/r1070925-13732.asx
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