To hear the left tell their tale, the United States was universally beloved and adored the world over. We had a President, in Bill Clinton, that was loved by the masses and the world hung onto our every word. We were not just the strongest nation in the world, we were the wisest and most virtuous as well. Then everything changed. That dangerous cowboy, George W. Bush, stole the election and what was Pax Americana under Clinton had America becoming a Pariah state under Bush, but this leftist fairy tale has a happy ending. It has the Democrats storming the White House reclaiming their birthright of power, and, once again, the United States becomes the beloved super power.
As usual, for the left, facts destroy their propaganda at the first touch. Anti Americanism exists regardless of who is in charge. Does anyone with an IQ above 12 really believe that the Iranians are going to become the friends of America simply because we have a Democrat in the White House? The Iranians have dealt with two Democratic presidents and treated them both with contempt. Is Hugo Chavez going to become the friend of America if Senator Obama is elected President? Or perhaps Cuba will stop raving about "Yankee imperialism" if the Democrats control washington?
But what about Europe? I can hear the courses of angry leftists who are screaming that President Bush has ruined the alliances of Europe. Did he? The anti Americans Chirac and Schroeder, have been replaced by the pro American Sarkozy and Merkel. We still have a special relationship with Britain and eastern Europe continues to look to America to protect them from a growing Russian threat. What the leftists are really ranting about is that European leftists and the other elites hate President Bush. Yes, that's true, but they also hate America. No matter who is in the White House there are people who are going to hate America, these people aren't going away. They need someone to hate as a way to vent their rage with the world and the United States fits the bill.
A more important question is why do we want the sociopaths, the terrorists and the tyrants of the world to like us? Shouldn't we take it as a badge of honor that men like Kim Jon Il, and the Mullahs of Iran despise us? But I suppose if we wanted to make nice with North Korea President Bush could just send Secretray Rice to dance with Kim Jong Il, Secretary Albright could give her some pointers. Now there's diplomacy for you.
This brings us to another important myth for the left. When President Bush stole the election in 2000 he went on the warpath and abandoned diplomacy, thus making the world hate us. Really, I guess we all missed the war against North Korea. Oh, that's right, there wasn't one. Instead we have spent the last seven years talking to the hermit kingdom trying to convince them, diplomatically, to abandon their nuclear weapon program. We've been trying to- with international help- to stop Iran and their nuclear program. So much for destroying our reputation and old alliances. After all if we're such a bad nation why do so many want to come here? Why do so many nations want our help?
President Bush can be criticized, rightly, for many things. Destroying Americas image and ruining American diplomacy isn't one of them. Americas popularity is beyond the control of any President. Americas position in the world often makes us a good target for people, and that isn't going to change no matter who is in the White House.
