John Kerry in Training

Democrat Barack Obama says he probably wouldn't have invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University but would be willing as president to meet with the Iranian leader as a way to protect U.S. interests.

I'm not sure I follow that logic, but I'm sure some voters will find it nuanced and brilliant.

"The hateful lies that he may utter about Israel, the Holocaust — the answer is for us to promote the truth and show the world the values and ideals that we hold dear," Obama said Monday. "One of the values we believe in is the value of academic freedom. He has a right to speak."

Hold it there for a minute. The First Amendment right is extended to citizens of the United States. I don't know that it has been extended to people who are not citizens of the US. Second, and this is a big second because a lot of people have trouble with it, it is a restriction on the government. It is not a restriction on Columbia University. Columbia University can deny this bum a platform without running afoul of these rights. It had a choice. It was not Ahmadinejad's right to speak at the University.

If Ahmadinejad knocks on the door to my office and wants to lecture my employees on the evils of Israel, I have every right to tell him to get the (^%&^ out.