On the one hand, I realize that American college professors, in general, are featured prominently on the list of conservative boogeymen. They’re all a bunch of ivory-tower eggheads, we’re told, who were drug-addled hippies in the 1960s. Worse, they’re poisoning the minds of our youths, the argument goes, by teaching college students a bunch of liberal, sometimes socialist, claptrap.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I also realize that conservative talking points emphasize the pro-American inclinations of the Iranian population. Part of this is to help justify a military confrontation — we can launch attacks without fear of inflaming the Iranian population because, at heart, they all really like us. (Indeed, we’d be “greeted as liberators.”)<\/p>\n
But leave it to former White House press secretary Tony Snow to link these two<\/a> disparate points nicely last week. (via the Washington Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n Tony Snow, former press Secretary to President Bush and Fox news anchor, spoke to the Academy of Leadership & Liberty at Oklahoma Christian University last week.<\/p>\n The winsome and articulate Snow charmed his audience with wit:<\/p>\n “The average Iranian is more Pro-American than virtually any college faculty in this country.”<\/p>\n And with serious talk about the war on terror and “the second war in this country, the war on God.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Seriously? This is so dumb, I’m almost surprised Snow would make the comments out loud, in public. “(These) Times demand leadership. A leader is someone who has a compelling vision of a better world. Courage, inspiration to go for it and use their creativity and freedom. Character separates a leader from a demagogue.” […]<\/p>\n Snow also said he loved being on a stage where he could say the word “God.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n First, I’d say Snow is bona fide expert on demagoguery, given his tenure at the Bush White House.<\/p>\n Second, I’m curious where, exactly, Snow is prohibited from mentioning the word “God.” He used it from his White House podium with some frequency<\/a>, and as far as I can tell, never faced any censorship.<\/p>\n Maybe Snow got confused — I suspect the only place he might have trouble talking about his faith is in Iran.<\/p>\n
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\nHe added these words of wisdom:<\/p>\n