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McCain Blasts Columbia University Prez
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ShareSeptember 25, 2007 1:47 PM
ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., had harsh words Tuesday about Columbia University's decision to allow the president of Iran to address students and faculty on its campus.
"There's rank hypocrisy here," McCain said, describing Columbia's decision to allow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak, but not to allow the Reserve Officers Training Corps, or ROTC, to talk to students on campus.
Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, who gave a scathing introduction to Ahmadinejad during his appearance at the university's Manhattan campus Monday, has voted to not allow ROTC to return to Columbia as a campus institution. The reason, he has said, is because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- the government's policy toward the service of gays and lesbians in the military.
"To not allow the ROTC … to try to recruit or discuss issues with young men and women on their campus is just disgraceful," McCain said.
Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia has generated a swirl of controversy for the university, which invited the Iranian leader to speak while he was in New York for the United Nation’s general assembly meeting.
McCain, the Arizona Republican seeking his party's nomination for president, has been critical all week of Columbia's decision. He spoke today on MSNBC.
And he saved harsh rhetoric for the Iranian president himself.
He called Ahmadinejad's remarks on Israel "idiotic babble," and professed confusion about the Iranian leader's denial of the Holocaust.
"What's that all about?" McCain asked.
Ahmadinejad toned down his previous denials of the Holocaust Monday, saying instead that the mass murder of more than 6 million Jews during World War II may have happened, but was open to interpretation.
September 25, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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A college is allowed to deny organizations a permenent presence on campus if they aren't mainly of an education or research purpose.That applies to soliciters,sponsers, promoters, trainers and indoctrinators.So businesses political parties,NGOs and military people can visit campuses but not set up offices there.
Posted by: David Hacker | Sep 25, 2007 2:26:06 PM
so let me get this right, the don't-ask-don't tell policy is so cruel that practicing members get barred from the school. however columbia has an open door policy for the president that executes gays...
does not compute. does not compute
Posted by: sampo | Sep 25, 2007 3:23:46 PM
I think it was brilliant for Columbia to give this lunatic an open platform to publicly humiliate himself. The more exposure his lame brain gets, the better.
Posted by: Sheila Condit | Sep 25, 2007 5:10:55 PM
Israeli war criminals give speeches at places all over the U.S.
The contrived hysteria by neo-cons trying to stir up a war with Iran is rank hypocrisy.
Posted by: Paul Tracy | Sep 25, 2007 5:58:14 PM
how hypocritical is it for mccain to deounce the columbia prez and he will not show up a the debate to be held at morgan state, in front of ethnic and racial minorities.
Posted by: r wyatt | Sep 25, 2007 6:06:00 PM
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