CBS News now allows reader comments on their web site, and the comments about Mike Wallace’s interview with Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are quite astounding: Iranian Leader Opens Up, Ahmadinejad Speaks Candidly With Mike Wallace About Israel, Nukes, Bush.

This is a poor interview, everything from the hokey dubbing, the radically American/Israel biased questions that Mr. Wallace poses, Mr. Wallace’s frequent and opinionated interruptions of the President, and the obvious bias. I have seen much better interviews by the European press, in which the interviewers are capable of presenting the interviewee’s point of view without angry and unprofessional interruptions by the journalist. If his mind was so closed to listening to an opinion which is extremely commom outside the USA, he should not have been chosen to conduct the interview. If an Iranian journalist interviewed President Bush, I imagine Americans would be outraged if he were treated the same as Wallace treated the Iranian President. The most important thing that we can learn from the European media and from Al Jazeera is how to critically analyse what we see in the American media and to choose not to buy into the propaganda which is so common in the U.S. This interview is an opportunity to see from the Arab perspective, which Americans rarely are capable of with an open mind. The attitude and the bellicosity of the interviewer is an example of why the Iranian President doesn’t grant interviews to many American journalists.

Posted by ehullum at 10:09 AM : Aug 14, 2006
………………………………………………………………………

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rebuked Bush administration in as polite but direct a way as possible re: the need for them to change their aggressive, self-righteous, and immodest behavior. Let’s face it. The Bushies are the antithesis of peace, harmony, and humility, a fact that has worked against them, and American people, in the world forum. But, when one’s leadership is so heavily invested in oil and war machinery, it only makes sense that they would want to promote war against countries with so much black gold.

Posted by rotling at 10:08 AM : Aug 14, 2006
……………………………………………………………………….

It is a wonder why so many countries have such a poor impression of us (the US). It is people like Mike Wallace that continue to build the a completly incorrect impression of what the american people truly believe.

I was completely embarassed as to how this interview was handled. Mike Wallace was rude in every way. While on the other hand Mr. Ahmadinejad was speaking peace and presenting himself in a manner that I was impressed with. I would not have put up with Mike Wallace’s behavior for that length of time.

What is 60 minutes thinking. I can’t believed you aired this.

The most unprofessional piece of journalism I have ever seen.

You should be ashamed of yourself!

Posted by heriksen at 10:07 AM : Aug 14, 2006
……………………………………………………………………….

I have been watching 60 minutes for over 30 years. I always saw a journalism at its best in the US. Mike Wallace’s work interviewing the President of Iran was one the worst I have seen.
The real issue we have with the middle east is exactly what the president of Iran said: we must change our foreign policy and the way we talk to the middle east people.

As a result of the Bush administration policy, we have more suicide bombers today that 4 years ago, we have more people in the world hating us than ever before, we are spending more money in security than ever before, we live in more fear than ever before, our economy is at the mercy one security mistake, and we are losing more American lives every day. These measurements prove that our foreign policies are wrong. Mike Wallace should have focused on these points and the solution forward in his interview with the president of Iran. His interview only magnified how arrogant and one-sided the US government has been to the rest of the world.

I will no longer watch 60 minutes.

Posted by NimoBakh at 10:07 AM : Aug 14, 2006