Those interested in learning more about New Hampshire’s next Republican Senator should check out the end of this interview she gave the New Hampshire Business Review in February 2007.

Here is the context: William Woodward is a psychology professor at the University of New Hampshire and a peace activist. That is not unusual, but his 9/11 conspiracy theories are. Woodward sparked great controversy when he alleged that “government elites orchestrated 9/11.” For a sample of his views, here is a sample from a lengthy letter he wrote the Portsmouth Herald last year:

[L]ike the first Pearl Harbor, the new one has been exposed as a hoax of monumental proportions. Read any of the dozen scholarly books that you find by searching “new Pearl Harbor” at Amazon books online. Supposedly, 19 Arabs boarded the planes and steered them toward targets, defying NORAD and the best defended air corridor in the world. The official story is promulgated by a compliant press owned by just five corporations (including General Electric, a major producer of war equipment).
…The collapses resembled controlled demolitions. Firefighters reported multiple synchronized explosions. Molten metal remained for weeks afterward. No kerosene fire has ever melted steel. A steel-cutting explosive called thermate was found. Videotapes of the airplane that hit the Pentagon were confiscated and not reported. Flight 93 was apparently shot down and its debris covers miles. The executive director of the 9/11 Commission Report, Phillip Zelikow, is a Bush crony. The CIA trains terrorists around the world and is linked to Osama bin Laden. Bets just prior to 9/11/01 that the stock price of United and American Airlines would drop (“put options”) show insider knowledge.

After Woodward was quoted in the newspapers discussing the matter, a number of politicians, including both Judd Gregg and Gov. John Lynch (D), called for an investigation. Bonnie Newman, who was then acting president of UNH, defended his activities on the grounds that they represented legitimate free inquiry that was appropriate to an institution of higher learning. Her words at the time were: “[W]e encourage the open inquiry of ideas and respect the freedoms, rights and responsibilities of all members of our learning community.”

Later, Newman gave the above-mentioned interview, which went as follows:

Q. There was a controversy last year about Professor William Woodward, who has a theory that he shares with his students that our government knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks. Some thought it would have been an opportune time for elected officials, including the governor to take a stand for academic freedom. He chose not to. Were you disappointed?
Newman: I think that the governor was acting as a governor would have to, and I acted as a university president. We saw the situation from each of our individual perspectives. I think a great many people were as frustrated as the governor was at Professor Woodward’s view of what happened on that tragic day. However, while we disagreed with his conclusion about what happened in New York on September 11th, we respect here his right to be able to express his views.
Q. And then Sen. Judd Gregg said there are limits to freedom of speech. Any thoughts about that?
Newman: We disagree. Let me say in the instance that we’re discussing, I don’t believe that we stepped over that threshold.