Tom Friedman: An American in Paris

Friedman, who I do enjoy reading and respect although with whom I may disagree from time to time, had this interesting concluding point written for Inauguration Day in his column An American in Paris:

"Funnily enough, the one country on this side of the ocean that would have elected Mr. Bush is not in Europe, but the Middle East: it's Iran, where many young people apparently hunger for Mr. Bush to remove their despotic leaders, the way he did in Iraq.

An Oxford student who had just returned from research in Iran told me that young Iranians were 'loving anything their government hates,' such as Mr. Bush, 'and hating anything their government loves.' Tehran is festooned in 'Down With America' graffiti, the student said, but when he tried to take pictures of it, the Iranian students he was with urged him not to. They said it was just put there by their government and was not how most Iranians felt.

Iran, he said, is the ultimate 'red state.' Go figure. "

This to me unlike perhaps Mr. Friedman meant his "Go figure" is to me a good thing and perhaps a precursor of the President's speech which is billed to be about FREEDOM.