DeMediacratic Nation: How Far We’ve Come Since Giuliani had Arafat Escorted from Lincoln Center

Not new news as of today, but speaks to the ridiculousness of some politicians, in this instance the role of “path to peace runs through Damascus” is played by Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg rather than Pelosi:

“In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ground zero during his visit to New York next week.”

Ahmadinejad requests a visit to Ground Zero to lay a wreath at the location in a gesture of peace while on a visit to speak at the UN prior to the possibility of further sanctions being laid like a wreath at his feet.

Some reactions from a couple of Presidential candidates, heard by now:

"Can you imagine the audacity, the shocking nerve, the chutzpah to suggest he would visit ground zero, the handiwork of terrorists of the very kind he supports?" - Romney

"This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring bin Laden's son and other al-Qaida leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero _ hallowed ground for all Americans _ is outrageous" – Giuliani

We haven’t always been carpets to walk on; at times I guess we will again, but at others perhaps not.

Seth Leibsohn from The Corner at NRO:

“The NYSUN is reporting " In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Ground Zero during his visit to New York next week, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today. The Iranian mission to the U.N. made the request to the New York City Police Department and the Secret Service, who will jointly oversee security during the president's two-day visit. Mr. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to arrive September 24 to speak to the U.N. General Assembly as the Security Council decides whether to increase sanctions against Iran for its uranium enrichment program."

How far we've come. Rudy Giuliani, when he was mayor, had Yasser Arafat escorted out of Lincoln Center, and was right to do so—he didn't consider ways to make Arafat's visit comfortable.

There is a debate of sorts as to whether the U.N. can legally deny a visa to a head of state such as Ahmadinejad. We denied Arafat a visa in 1988 under the fiction that he was not a head of state. But what about our states? Anyone remember 1983 and how two Governors, Tom Kean and Mario Cuomo, of New Jersey and New York handled their duties? They denied Soviet landing rights in their states as a result of the USSR shooting down KAL 007.

As the U.N. screamed over this lese majeste, threatening to deny the U.S. as home to the U.N., the late Ambassador Charles Lichenstein took it just fine, saying: "We will put no impediment in your way. The members of the U.S. mission to the United Nations will be down at the dockside waving you a fond farewell as you sail off into the sunset."

How I miss the days when city, state, and national leaders took terrorism as seriously as they used to.”