Posted on 10/16/2004 1:02:09 PM PDT by mrsmel
The challenger has made much of his assertion that Bush has squandered world sympathy in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in 2001, writes Tony Parkinson.
President George Bush speaks to the American people in a folksy idiom. Self-evidently, this approach does not travel well.
He also leads the superpower when it is engaged in a gruelling and harrowing campaign to confront the phenomenon of jihadist terrorism, one element of which involved a costly and contentious war in Iraq. Bush calls this the "hard work of history" - but, clearly, this agenda has tested the limits of international goodwill.
According to a survey, published by The Age and prominent newspapers in nine other countries this week, Bush is seriously on the nose with global public opinion.
The polls suggest that if a majority of voters in France, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Britain, Mexico - and Australia - had their way, Senator John Kerry, not Bush, would be taking up residence in the White House. Russians and Israelis supported Bush in the poll.
Advertisement Advertisement As the presidential campaign draws towards its November 2 climax, to what extent, if at all, will these findings resonate in the domestic political contest in the United States? Kerry has made much of his assertion that Bush has squandered world sympathy in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This has been one of his core messages to voters in the three televised presidential debates, which ended this week.
The American media invest great energy in running a scorecard on these ritualised set-piece exchanges and, according to instant polls of TV audiences, Kerry won all three debates.
But short of a meltdown by either candidate, which has not happened, it is hard to know whether and to what extent viewers' instinctive reactions will translate into voting intentions. Given that judgements will tend to be more subliminal than substantive, any effect is far more likely to come down to perceptions.
There is little doubt that Kerry's TV performance has resurrected his campaign.The 1960 TV debate is frequently cited as a benchmark, where a more compelling John F. Kennedy gained ascendancy over Richard Nixon. Has John F. Kerry engineered something similar against President George Bush?
There is little doubt that Kerry's performance in the debates has resurrected his campaign. According to an ABC News poll, 48 per cent of likely voters have a favourable opinion of Kerry, up nine points since the first debate. On voting intentions, the latest poll shows a 48-48 tie.
Poll analyst Cheryl Arnedt says: "The debates clearly changed the complexion of the contest, breathing new life into Kerry's campaign by lifting him over the hurdle of basic acceptability."
This will please Comeback Kerry cheer squads around the world. But will the anti-Bush sentiments in foreign lands provide Kerry any extra traction where it counts - among voters at home?
The demands of the war on terror and the challenge of securing and stabilising Iraq have dominated the US presidential campaign. In America, as elsewhere, opinions are polarised.
Kerry has sought to distinguish himself from Bush as a more committed multilateralist. He claims the task in Iraq would have been easier, and the costs shared more widely, if Bush had done a better job of keeping the world on side.
But push-and-pull forces are at work in the American body politic. One powerful undercurrent is a sentiment that says the superpower must be ready to act to protect itself, alone if necessary, because it can expect little sympathy or support from the outside world.
For this reason, Kerry's single greatest strategic imperative during this presidential campaign has been to overcome Bush's significant lead on the crunch issue of who Americans rate as better equipped to deal with the terrorism threat. It is a question not just about ways and means, but also about resolve and conviction.
Facing the repeated accusation by Bush that Kerry would allow other nations a veto over the US security agenda, Kerry's challenge has been to reassure voters he will do whatever it takes to defend American lives, even at the risk of hostile reactions in other countries.
Here, then, is a danger for the Democratic contender: if Americans keep being given shrill reminders that much of the world is barracking for Kerry, it could become the kiss of death.
Er, "Herald".
The polls had it neck and neck between Jeb and the demonrat opponent (blocked out his name) in Florida. Jeb won by a landslide. It was all BS from MSM.
Oops, I forgot Miranda! I love reading Miranda.
I was talking recently to an Auzzie friend I work with and he was home in Perth for the elections.
He told me that a lot of the vote for Howard was to also show support for America and the war on terrorism.
You wouldn't know it from the press, but we have a lot of friends in Australia.
I agree with that,as shown by the election results there.I imagine that their voices are muzzled in the media,as are conservative voices here.Supporters of the WOT and the government are naturally not going to be the ones out holding nostalgic protests and getting facetime in the media,and even if they were,they're not going to get the same coverage from an antipathetic media.
Notice these are the only two countries which are also victims of Islamofacism. I also doubt that the Australians really belong on the list since they just reelected John Howard. The Japanese overwhelmingly favored Bush when he ran against Gore, as he was perceived as the candidate of Communist China. Drops in Bush favorability ratings in Japan can be largely, if not entirely, 24/7 Bush bashing by our mainstream media from which they get their news. The Sankei Shimbun group, which is one of the few with the ambition to send their own reporters to America to do their own stories coincidently paints the most favorable picture of the American President. The rest are content to send fluff reporters to regurgitate the views of CNN, Reuters, etc.
I'M NOT FRENCH.
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