"...an apparent attempt by the firebrand president to reach out to Americans over the head of their government."

Is the writer invoking Ronald Reagan in how he went "over the heads of Congress" directly to the American people? (Something President Bush could have done a LOT MORE of in recent years!)

But then the AP writer, Nasser Karimi, goes on to paint the picture this way:

"Ahmadinejad wrote a rambling, 18-page letter to President Bush in May, which Washington criticized for not addressing Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. is leading the drive to impose U.N. sanctions on Tehran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Average Iranians were disappointed by the cold response to the May letter, the first official communication between the two countries' presidents since the Islamic Revolution of 1979." (empahsis added)

Average Iranians? You mean their sitting around having their cafe' and they are lamenting that we didn't embrace the "warm fuzzy" that Adolf-ah-dinejad sent more or less threatening Bush's life if America did not convert to Islam? Yeah it's at the top of their mind. Right before, "can we please get more electricty, and fewer taxes, and if you get around to it - the whole democracy thing?"

But the report continued:

"Many American people asked me to talk to them in order to explain the views of the Iranian people," Ahmadinejad told reporters, referring to his visit to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly session in September 2005.

Ahmadinejad has alienated many Americans by calling for Israel's destruction and repeatedly dismissing the Holocaust as a myth. He also strongly supports the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese faction Hezbollah, which the U.S. State Department lists as terrorist organizations.

Twice this year, Iran has proposed talks with the United States over Iraq, but Ahmadinejad has said that for such negotiations to take place, Washington must change its behavior. On Sunday, he said Iran was ready to help the United States get out of the "Iraqi quagmire if the U.S. changes its bullying policy toward Iran."

This report coupled with the DailyKos praise of Adolf-ah-dinejad following CBS's interview with him in which Mike Wallace got his tailed kicked five ways from Sunday. Hey... maybe Adolf should run for the Democrats in 2008.