I?ve saved a lot of moments in my life when I just kept my mouth shut, and there are plenty of others I could have saved. Right now the country should try it. The chorus of idiots jumping up and down and demanding that the President speak out on the Iranian unrest should try it. Who would listen to us anyway? The Iranians? Why would they? The last great gift we gave them was the Shah. Lindsey says we are the leader of the free world. Maybe so, Lindsey ? in your personal dream world. But most certainly not in the actual, historical world where we have spent at least as much time undermining freedom as we have leading it. We are like every other country. We like governments that do what we like and we don?t like governments that don?t do what we like. Our record is clear: We don?t much care whether they are ?free? governments or not. We don?t much care what kind of governments they are.

Lindsey and his kindred don?t give a hoot about Iran. They are just scrounging about for anything they can throw at President Obama. They are supposed to be thinking like practical men not frat boys warming up for the big game on vats of booze. But they would be hard pressed to point to one practical reason why we should say anything about the Iranian unrest. President Obama has said that he expects the right to free expression should be protected everywhere. Stop. That?s plenty. I don?t want him to say anymore. It?s not like the powers in Iran need an excuse to blame the West for instigating internal unrest. We?ve certainly done it before. Why add to the record?

Lindsey has forgotten that within the last decade Iranian moderates gained a strong foothold in that nation?s power structure only to have us pull the rug from under them by refusing to meet and talk. Early in the Bush nightmare Iran offered to meet with American representatives without pre-conditions to discuss our mutual interest in isolating the Taliban, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue and reaching some accommodation respecting Iran?s nuclear program. The offer was conveyed to us by the Swiss. Bush?s response: He scolded the Swiss for even conveying the offer. The Iranian moderates had gone out on a limb to make the offer and Bush sawed that limb off. In the next Iranian elections the moderates were swept out of power and the conservatives stepped in.

The plain fact is that we are not in a position to say anything about Iran, and we have nothing to lose by keeping our mouths shut. Thank goodness we have someone in the White House that recognizes that simple reality and possesses the cool to hold fire. Lindsey, shut up and sit down. You?ll thank me.