HOW KIND - AT 7:15 A.M. ET:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's president said Wednesday he is willing to forget the past and build a new relationship with the United States, adding that he is preparing a new package of proposals aimed at breaking the impasse with the West over his country's nuclear program.

The remarks by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to thousands in the southeastern city of Kerman took a conciliatory tone not usually heard in his speeches.

''The Iranian nation is a generous nation. It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush,'' Ahmadinejad said.

COMMENT:  Notice the spin on the story - the esteemed leader is taking a "conciliatory" tone.  There is nothing conciliatory about his remarks.  He's fundamentally saying that Iran will call the shots.  Sadly, given the first--three-months record of the Obama administration, he may be right.

The alarming thing is that there seems to be no urgency on the part of the United States or our allies.  Yet, each day brings Iran closer to a possible nuclear weapon. 

I think an agreement with Iran is actually possible, but it will involve so many loopholes as to be meaningless.  But, if we reach such an agreement, an obliging, Obamafied press can spin it as "some progress, better than war."  To an America worried primarily about the economy, that could be satisfactory.

April 15, 2009