But as Pat Buchanan pointed out on MSNBC this morning, if the man wants to go on public record at making a symbolic gesture repudiating Al-Quaeda, perhaps we are being hasty in slamming the door in his face. It may have been an attempt to reach out to us. Buchanan went on to add that the infamous 19 page rant Ahmadinejad mailed to, and summarily dismissed by, Bush would have been answered in detail by Ronald Reagan, with every point of contention brought up and refuted, but with a view to opening a dialogue. Buchanan went on to compare the situation with Nixon's trip to China, which Buchanan had initially opposed, but which he now admits being mistaken about.

Incidentally, in the same program, Buchanan remarked that Hilary's joking comparison of Dick Cheney with Darth Vader was just that, a joke, and he thought it was funny. He also slammed a Clinton campaign
staffer's attack on Giuliani as unfair and personal, which I happen to agree with.

It's a testimony to the state of political polarization in this country today that Pat Buchanan is coming across as a moderate Republican.