Polls: Europe Negative on Bush Re-Election

[IsraelRX]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...rnational_poll

International resentment of the Bush administration has spilled over to include bad feelings for the American people, too — at least in three European countries that opposed U.S. policies in Iraq (news - web sites).

People in France, Germany and Spain are more likely to have an unfavorable than favorable view of Americans, Associated Press polling found.


Just over half in France and Germany said they viewed Americans unfavorably. Almost half in Spain felt that way, while a third of Spaniards viewed Americans favorably.


The U.S. rift with longtime allies France and Germany is the most serious in years, and relations with Spain have been particularly frosty since Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq last April.


President Bush (news - web sites) pledged soon after his re-election victory on Nov. 2 that he would work to "deepen our trans-Atlantic ties with the nations of Europe." He plans a trip to Europe in February.


But the president, and Americans generally, have plenty of work to do to win over Europeans, according to international AP-Ipsos polls.


The polling suggests an increasing lack of European understanding of Americans rather than a surge of anti-Americanism, said Gilles Corman, the director of public affairs for Ipsos-Inra of Belgium.


Polling in the United States as well as Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Spain was done for the AP by Ipsos, an international polling company.


A majority in each of the four European countries polled, including close U.S. ally Britain, said they were disappointed in the Bush re-election.


"Above all, they appear to be worried about the consequences of this election," Corman said. "The predominant feelings about Bush's re-election in the European countries are disappointment and surprise more than anger."


Bush's re-election was greeted with dismay by many in Europe and prompted negative headlines in various newspapers.


"How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" asked the Daily Mirror, a liberal tabloid in Britain that opposed the war in Iraq.


In France, Bush's re-election drew headlines like the left-leaning Liberation's "L'empire empire," a play on words that means "The Empire gets worse."


In Spain, relations with the United States have deteriorated since Zapatero's Socialist party unexpectedly won the March 14 general election just three days after the Madrid commuter train bombings. The terror attacks turned public opinion against conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a staunch Bush ally.


In Australia, Canada, Britain and Italy, people had a negative view of Bush, but a majority in those countries said they viewed Americans favorably.

"The negative view that Canadians have of George Bush (news - web sites) does not extend to Americans in general," said Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs-North America.
In Canada, about six in 10 Canadians said they were disappointed with the re-election. The president was asked last month during a trip to Canada about various polls that show Canadians and Americans drifting apart.

"We just had a poll in our country where people decided that the foreign policy of the Bush administration ought to — stay in place for four more years," Bush replied.

As reflected by his re-election, a majority in the United States view Bush favorably. Just over half in this country said they were hopeful and were not disappointed after the election.

The AP-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each country were taken between Nov. 19-27 and have margins of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

[mmarshall]

I Like Bush. I voted for Bush.....twice. I'd vote for him again tomorrow...in a heartbeat. Couldn't care less what Europeans think. (No offense, Richie)
Hey......they can't even design a reliable CAR anymore.....much less a real government.

[Vegassc400]

I Like Bush. I voted for Bush.....twice. I'd vote for him again tomorrow...in a heartbeat. Couldn't care less what Europeans think. (No offense, Richie)

I, on the other hand, did not vote for Bush and seriously doubt he has the capabilites required for the Presidency. But, having said that, believe it is time for everyone to get over it. It is what it is. I may not be happy about it but sitting around stewing does not make anything better. Also, the fact that France and Germany were in bed with Saddam does not help their postion and makes any criticism of Bush or Americans in general seem very tainted.

[Richie]

Originally posted by mmarshall
(No offense, Richie)

Non taken, I like Bush, he has a sense of humor, at least from what I see on TV.

[mmarshall]

Originally posted by Vegassc400
Also, the fact that France and Germany were in bed with Saddam does not help their postion and makes any criticism of Bush or Americans in general seem very tainted.

Well...you hit the nail right on the head, Vegas....THAT is the problem with the Europeans. They don't have the intelligence and discernment to see how their pro-Saddam attitudes and unfounded condemnation of Bush have gotten them into trouble. So we so-called dumb Americans have to open their eyes FOR them.
But...as I said in my post.......I couldn't care less if they want to run around blind. That is their buisness. As you yourself say...I've "gotten over it". I no longer care what they think.

[DaveGS4]

IsraelRX, please read the following link posted at the top of this forum.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/show...hreadid=142369
1) No more 'one link / one liner' threads. This means the person starting the post must put a little more effort into explaining their personal position or thoughts around a subject than simply posting a link to another forum or quoting some far left or right wing news source. We will lock or delete any threads that begin that way... if it's worth debating, the thread starter needs to spend more time introducing the topic than pushing the paste button.