George and Mahmoud

Thinking about the U.S. and Iran — the George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad posturing, which is presently all that is really happening between the two countries — I can't help imagining them as two banty roosters, chests out, combs and wattles trembling as they circle and circle and glare at each other.

The banty rooster thing seems to be all they have in common (besides oddly similar faces); it's all about puffing out the chest and scaring the hell out of the other guy.

Now, I believe that only a really strong man can make moves that might appear "weak" and get away with it; without debating whether our President is strong, we can agree that he is our President, and that means he occupies a position of strength.

Mahmoud is not strong, by all accounts: even though elected he is still subordinate to a collection of mullahs. So he really, really needs to show his people that he is a leader who can get other leaders to take him seriously.

And we really need to persuade him that we can be friends and get along — something not likely to happen if all we do is scare the hell out of him.

So what to do? George should give a little. Show a little kindness. Appear to take him seriously. Say something reasonable and reasonably to be understood as statesmanlike. Like: "We could talk."