Of course, Andy Samberg is just joking. Others are more serious in their infatuation with Ahmadinejad. For instance, “sallykohn” recently wrote a diary entry on Daily Kos titled “Why I Have A Little Crush on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

She wrote:

I want to be very clear. There are certainly many things about Ahmadinejad that I abhor — locking up dissidents, executing of gay folks, denying the fact of the Holocaust, potentially adding another dangerous nuclear power to the world and, in general, stifling democracy. Even still, I can’t help but be turned on by his frank rhetoric calling out the horrors of the Bush Administration and, for that matter, generations of US foreign policy preceding.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

And then she concluded:

Monday, when Ahmadinejad speaks at Columbia University in New York, I’ll be listening. Maybe with a bottle of wine and some soft music playing in the background. If I can get past the fact that, as a Jewish lesbian, he’d probably have me killed, I’ll try to listen for some truth.

Ugh.

Right-wing bloggers, of course, have made hay out of this and similar diaries on Daily Kos. What Kos’s critics usually fail to note is that the diarists are the equivalent of mere commenters on other sites and don’t necessarily represent the views of the Kos editors (and, in any case, left-wing blogs certainly have no monopoly on stupid rhetoric). Still, the number of Kos diarists last week who were making apologies for Ahmadinejad (or arguing he’s no worse than Bush) does suggest troubling currents swirling among the Netroots.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount