Jonah, the strange thing about that comment from Clinton, who is (whatever else he may be) usually a very well-informed guy, is the degree of ignorance it reveals. Odd that.

By contrast, while the role of the EU’s political class in this affair has, typically, been mixed, the French foreign minister was saying the right things today: “You can never put question marks around the freedom of speech in any European country, and therefore we have all declared our solidarity with the Danes.”

Yes, he was exaggerating. As Tony Blair’s proposed new law on religious hatred reminds us, European politicians these days are all too willing to limit free speech if it suits them, nevertheless they do appear to understand that, in principle (if nothing else) it is something that should be defended.

Does Bill Clinton?