CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — It was up with people yesterday afternoon at the John F. Kennedy School of Government as the goodwill tour of the former president of Iran, Mohammed Khatemi, rolled into town.

Warm applause, well-meaning platitudes, and even raucous laughter punctuated an almost two-hour affair that showcased Iran’s leading figure of “moderation.” A healthy share of critical questions, to be fair, also made their way into the mix. If it wasn’t quite America’s diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union in 1933 or the ticker-tape parade for Fidel Castro on Wall Street in 1959, a spirit of earnest pleasantry dominated the affair.

The director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Graham Allison, set the tone for the event by quoting President Bush’s interview Saturday with the Wall Street Journal.

“‘My hope is that diplomacy will work in convincing the Iranians to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions. … For diplomacy to work, it’s important to hear voices other than the current president, Ahmadinejad,” Mr. Allison said, repeating Mr. Bush’s words verbatim. Then he added, “I agree.”

Without any sense of irony, Mr. Allison commenced the event by calling for the audience to stand and recognize the victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001, an event Mr. Khatemi denounced as he concluded his remarks, taking the opportunity to speak briefly in English.

“The horrific terror unleashed on that Tuesday in September will no doubt come to be known as one of the greatest … calamities,” Mr. Khatemi said. “As a human, as a Moslem, and as an Iranian, I stand before you to once again express my deepest sympathy with the families of the victims and with all the great American people.”

Such a condemnation — and another of Osama bin Laden — helped the Iranian leader foster a façade of reasonability. In fact, he did nothing more than criticize the head of a rival Islamic faction and global competitor of Iran in the game of Islamic extremism.

Still, it had its effect. Mr. Khatemi is the ideal spokesman for the Iranian regime in this morally muddled age. With his fashionable physical appearance, neatly trimmed beard with rimless spectacles, and jocular demeanor — he defused a passionate critical question from an Iranian student in the audience by praising the speechmaking abilities of his countrymen — Mr. Khatemi presents himself as a model of moderation for the Whole Foods set.

Mr. Khatemi first delivered a tedious prepared address in which he invoked, perhaps in homage to Harvard’s founders, “the pleasant ring of the word ‘Puritan,'” and put forward an almost New Age piety to impress the audience: “The West needs spirituality more than ever before.”

His comments in response to questions were more illuminating.

Asked about Iranian support for Hezbollah, Mr. Khatemi provided multiple answers: Iran does not provide millions of dollars in aid to Hezbollah; Iran provides only “spiritual” support to Hezbollah; Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization; Hezbollah is legitimately defending Lebanese territory.

And, while doing all this, he reached out to another beloved international constituency, the French. He likened Hezbollah, linked to terrorist bombings in Buenos Aires and the 1983 murder of 241 Americans in Beirut, to the French resistance sans red wine, baguettes, and berets.

“Those stands of resistance the French showed in the face of the German attackers are not only not condemned but also are encouraged, and there are many movies about it,” Mr. Khatemi said.

True to his pledge to ask Mr. Khatemi substantive questions, Mr. Allison queried the ex-leader on whether he agreed with President Ahmadinejad on the notion that Israel should be wiped off the map.

“I have never wanted the elimination of any person or any nation from the political sphere,” Mr. Khatemi said. “For 50 years, the nation of Palestine has been eliminated from the map,” he added.

The room erupted in boisterous applause.

One theme reoccurred throughout Mr. Khatemi’s speech: the danger of engaging in double standards. “What needs to be denounced in our world is the existence of and practice of double standards,” he said.

Given that the nations most subject to pervasive double standards in the world are America and Israel, I endorse his comments wholeheartedly.

Mr. Khatemi also made sure to pepper his remarks with the phrase “cycles of violence,” a favorite of well-meaning peaceniks everywhere. And he called for a look into the deeper causes of terrorism: “In assessing the causes of violence, we have to look at the root causes.” This guy ought to have his own blog.

Mr. Gitell is a contributing editor of The New York Sun.