Go U.S.A.!

Scott Hardie | December 5, 2002
'In the eyes of much of the world, this is America: an inconsiderate lone wolf that has really good entertainment but really bad values, that wants war with Iraq just to get oil but still should remain as the only superpower on Earth.' That's the summary of a survey of global opinions about the U.S., recently announced in the news. Among the negative findings:

-75% of Jordanians dislike us. 69% of Egyptians and Pakistanis dislike us. 59% of Lebanese dislike us.

-'The most common criticisms of the United States are that it acts by itself, it pushes policies that widen the gap between rich and poor nations, and it doesn't do enough to solve the world's problems.'

-75% of Americans said our foreign policy is considerate of other nations. 53% of Germans and only 25% of Canadians thought the same way.

-84% of Egyptians, 71% of the French, 67% of Germans, and 54% of Canadians said 'it would be bad to spread American ideas and customs.'

If you follow international news, this survey isn't telling you anything new, it's just putting it into actual numbers. People in other countries are generally pissed off at us because of the way that we treat them.

The article mentions that the White House has established an office of "global communications." When I read that, I thought, great, finally the president is going to listen to what the rest of the world has to say.

No, the purpose of the office is to explain the president's policies to other countries.

And so the problem continues.

Jackie Mason | December 5, 2002
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | December 5, 2002
Does anybody remember what Bush's main selling point was back in the 2000 election? It was that he was a charming, charismatic person, who could get along with anybody. Well, it hasn't helped him get along with Democrats in Congress, since partisan politics are as bad as ever, and it hasn't helped him get along with the rest of the world. (Though of course, he gets along just fine with the world leaders who agree with him.) He doesn't seem to think it matters whether the world approves of our international policies or not. And he clearly doesn't think that other nations are our equals. Latest evidence: Terrorists attack us on 9/11, Bush tells world leaders that they have an obligation to help us track down the terrorists wherever they are. Terrorists attack Israelis in Kenya this past Thanksgiving, Bush tells a furious Israel to restrain itself and let Kenya handle it. Asshole.