October 27, 2004

Curious Specimen

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From the International Herald Tribure: Vote in U.S. inflames Europeans.

Judging from opinion polls, media reports and conversation on this side of the Atlantic, the overwhelming sentiment on what would be bad for Europe is another four years with President George W. Bush. In Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, Europeans appear to be united by an overwhelming antipathy toward Bush. ...

European media are sending correspondents all over the United States in an effort to delve into the American psyche.

"We want to understand why so many people are still on Bush's side; it's a kind of mystery to us," said Peter Frey, Berlin bureau chief for ZDF television in Germany. "We are asking the American people, 'Why are you voting for Bush?' We want to understand why he has this support." ...

For many Europeans, it is not what Kerry would do as president that matters, it is the way they think he would do it.

"The fact that Kerry has an attitude in which he feels he wants to consult the allies and is less arrogant in his relationship with allies, puts him in a much more positive light here," said Nathalie La Balme, program officer at the Paris office of the German Marshall Fund. "I don't know whether if Kerry gets elected anything will change. But in terms of attitude and perception and words, it would make a big difference." [Emphasis added]

Posted by Forkum at October 27, 2004 07:55 PM
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