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« In Case You Doubted | Main | Finally! » May 11, 2004
Pulling for New Europe
Posted by Bill Check out this must-read in the WaPo about conflicting US support and anti-Americanism in an expanded European Union: The absence of mass protests in Central and Eastern Europe against Iraq, globalization or any other "code word" for America speaks volumes about the region's attitudes. And in that light, the expansion of the European Union brings a rare piece of good news for the United States: The addition of a raft of former communist countries could restore some balance to European thinking about the continent's traditional ally across the pond. Of course, West European hostility to "L'Ennemi Americain," as the French writer Philippe Roger bluntly titled his 2002 book on the threat of U.S. culture, isn't about to disappear. French intellectuals have tried to limit distribution of American movies in their country since 1927, so it's probably a good bet that anti-Americanism in parts of Europe is going to outlive the presidency of George W. Bush, despite Democrats' hopes to the contrary. But now, at least, it will have to compete with a different vision of America in a reinvigorated marketplace of ideas. Then there's the "unwashed elected idiot" factor: In this regard, a president such as Bush, with his lack of cosmopolitan sheen, diplomatic grace and deference to European cultural superiority, exacerbates European hostility. But all those Democratic-leaning Americans I met at three different political conferences over the past three months, who aggressively pushed the notion that "It's all about Bush," are sadly mistaken. It isn't. It may be true, as one German panelist at the anti-Americanism session suggested, that Democratic leaders are at least sometimes, and usually condescendingly, accorded the status of "honorary Europeans," while "Republicans are seen as something completely alien." But Old Europe has a long history of disdaining American presidents of either party, as the conservative-leaning French writer Jean-Francois Revel amusingly notes in his recent book, "Anti-Americanism." "Yet another universally held conviction," he writes ironically, "is that Americans make it a point of honour to elect only mental defectives as presidents. From the Missouri tie salesman Truman to the Texas cretin George W. Bush, not to mention the peanut farmer Carter and the B-movie actor Reagan, the White House offers us a gallery of nincompoops." Don't let the Europeans down this November! Unfortunately, my favorite Bushism of all time did not take place in Western Europe: Arriving for a caviar dinner at Russian President Vladimir Putin's country residence, Bush viewed the immaculate grounds and told his host: "Nice of you to mow the grass for us." Awesome. You have to love a man that can animate a cherished cliché; every time he opens his mouth, poll numbers plummet in Europe and swing upwards in America. I don't think that I'd want it the other way around ... Posted by Bill at May 11, 2004 09:55 AM | TrackBack (0) CommentsFrom the Missouri tie salesman Truman to the Texas cretin George W. Bush, not to mention the peanut farmer Carter and the B-movie actor Reagan,The Arkansas serial rapist or the Massachusetts philanderer don't get an honorable mention? Posted by: keggin at May 11, 2004 01:30 PM |
