Go John Kerry, he's our man!
If he can't do it, no one can!
Posted on 03/15/2004 12:24:00 PM PST by areafiftyone
BERLIN (Reuters) - John Kerry (news - web sites) refuses to reveal the identities of foreign leaders he says are hoping he beats George W. Bush, but the list of admirers may include "old Europe" leaders alienated by the U.S. president's policies.
Even though no European leader has gone on record endorsing Kerry over Bush in the U.S. presidential election, analysts say many Western governments and their citizens are rooting from the sidelines for Kerry with unaccustomed zeal.
"You can probably find a lot of top people in governments across Europe very much hoping Kerry will win," said Peter Loesche, a political scientist at Goettingen University. "Bush isn't at all liked in Germany or many places in Europe."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac, who have openly clashed with Bush over Iraq (news - web sites) and felt the wrath from Washington for their opposition, could be among those hoping for a new U.S. government in November.
European officials are at pains to avoid interfering in the U.S. campaign, but point to mass demonstrations against Bush policies and polls that show Europeans would prefer the Massachusetts senator over the sitting U.S. president.
A survey Monday of German voters published by Focus magazine found that 65 percent want Kerry compared to 11 percent for Bush, five percent for neither and 19 percent undecided.
"It's not an anti-American mood in Germany but there are strong feelings against Bush," said Manfred Guellner, an adviser to Schroeder and head of the Forsa polling institute. "Europeans felt comfortable with (Bill) Clinton. They don't with Bush."
The exception to that may be in Britain, where the departure of Bush would leave his British ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), isolated at least in the short term, especially after the pro-war conservative Spanish government was ousted Sunday.
KERRY SAYS 'ALLIES' WANT HIM TO BEAT BUSH
But fearful that foreign intervention could backfire, no one in Berlin or Paris will voice a preference -- even after Kerry revealed America's allies were telling him they are upset with the "arrogant" U.S. foreign policy and its unilateralism.
"We're staying out of the presidential election but are obviously following it with great interest," said Friedbert Pflueger, foreign policy expert for conservative opposition in the German parliament.
"There's no way on earth I would make any comment on that," said Karsten Voigt, Schroeder's U.S. policy coordinator, when asked about Kerry's remarks about his foreign fans.
Kerry said the foreign leaders did not want to be named. But after the Bush administration derided Germany and France as "old Europe," Berlin and Paris seem to be obvious candidates.
"I'm talking about our allies, I'm talking about people who were our friends nine months ago," Kerry said while campaigning Sunday, adding he would not identify leaders he spoke with.
Kerry, who speaks French and some German, said they told him: "'You've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy'."
Kerry, who lived for two years in Berlin in the early 1950s and attended boarding school in Switzerland, has drawn cheers across Europe for his international credentials, his language abilities and his pro-environment track record.
In France, officials warn journalists not to jump to the conclusion they are waiting for a new administration to say 'adieu' to the most anti-French administration in years. Nobody in a leading post dares to speculate on the race.
Studiously declining to pick sides, one senior official said Kerry might not be as difficult to deal with as Bush but might still be too unilateral for French taste. "He will still be American," he said, noting Washington's interests were fundamentally different from Europe's." Don't forget that the president still has many ways of creating events that work in his favor. It's a long way to the election."
Go John Kerry, he's our man!
If he can't do it, no one can!
I think that if the German voters want al Qerry, they should have him. I'll be happy to pay for the airplane ticket -- one way, of course, no return ever.
Earlier today, Rush played the tape, wherein JF'nK says "I HAVE MET WITH FOREIGN LEADERS. THEY LOOK YOU IN THE EYE AND TELL YOU THAT YOU'VE GOT TO WIN THIS, YOU'VE GOT TO BEAT THIS GUY." (Must've just coincidentally been severally those universally compatible video phones on which they were all talking, eh?)
If he'll lie about this relatively inconsequential thing, he's untrustworthy to tell the truth about anything.
HF
Read the earlier thread, Kerry Busted!
This one wins the award for Diplomatic "Duh" of the Week. Although I'm sure that the EU would like nothing more than to find a way to amend the Constitution to either (a) let Slick Willie get a third term or (b) get a Frenchman as our President.
Oh wait, one's already running this year.
}:-)4
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