One of the great Nuts of the world

What motivates someone in a position of power like Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to shoot off his mouth with fiery rhetoric? By 'fiery' I mean his comment yesterday that the Holocaust is a myth, a "fabricated legend" made up by Jews. It was only in October that he said Israel should be "wiped off the map." Why would he say these things, right when the world is lined up against Iran because of their nuclear program and potential weapons ambitions? Fortunately he does not have the same type of power as an American president carries, but this type of fanning the fire of resentment and near fanaticism is not what this region of the world needs right now. What we need to figure out is how strong and deep are these types of feelings in terms of the public and religious leaders within Iran.