Posted on 06/03/2004 6:47:34 PM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A trip to Europe to commemorate D-Day this week will give President Bush (news - web sites) a chance to shore up his battered standing in the world, but he also faces political risk if he fails to enlist more help in stabilizing Iraq (news - web sites).
Bush sets off on Thursday for Italy and France where he will dine with foreign leaders, confer with Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II -- one of his harshest critic of the war in Iraq -- and deliver a speech on the coast of Normandy where Allied troops stormed Nazi-occupied France 60 years ago.
The visit comes as Bush's approval ratings at home have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency, lingering in the mid-40 percent range.
Analysts say the trip could give Bush a lift in opinion polls and help him counter criticism from Democratic rival John Kerry (news - web sites) that he has "shredded" U.S. credibility abroad.
"There's no question this will give him a bump in the polls," said Charles Kupchan, director of European studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "There will be lots of photo opportunities and lots of statements of solidarity."
But Kupchan and other analysts said any boost in Bush's approval ratings may prove fleeting if after this trip -- and another this month to Ireland and Turkey -- little is accomplished on Iraq and the U.S. death toll keeps climbing.
"This president is on the ropes," said pollster John Zogby. "The trip is a risky gambit because I don't think he's going to come home with much" in foreign policy accomplishments.
Zogby also saw a risk that the strains between the Bush administration and many European leaders -- while they will be tempered by the solemnity of the D-Day celebration -- may resurface to reinforce some of Kerry's criticisms.
Anti-Bush protests on the streets of Rome and Paris could also weigh on the president's standing at home.
In a series of recent speeches, Bush has likened his "war on terror," including the Iraq war, to the Allied fight against the Nazis in World War II.
That theme may not play well with some European leaders, particularly French President Jacques Chirac who deeply opposed the Iraq war and has been pressing for the United States to agree to time limits for its military presence in Iraq.
Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who will attend the June 6 D-Day celebrations in a first for a German leader, will be loath to give Bush a public relations victory.
On the other hand, neither has any interest in stirring a diplomatic row.
There will be "somewhat insincere smiles and handshakes" but few overt signs of disagreement, said Joshua Muravchik, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Although Kupchan said Kerry may make headway hammering Bush over his estrangement from traditional allies like France and Germany, Muravchik believes many U.S. voters care little about that issue.
"The president has been criticized for having troubled relations with Europeans," Muravchik said. "A lot of voters think that's the fault of the Europeans. Friendly cozy relations with France are not necessarily something that voters want."
As for the substance of the meetings, one of Bush's key goals will be to secure support from European governments for a new resolution setting out the terms of the June 30 transfer of power to an interim government in Iraq.
His warmest welcome is likely to come from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the U.S. president's staunchest supporters on Iraq, despite wide opposition to the war in Italy.
From Europe, Bush will go to Sea Island, Georgia next week for a summit of the G8 leaders. U.S. officials have been working to get an official from the new Iraqi caretaker government, perhaps interim President Ghazi Yawar, to attend
"This president is on the ropes," said pollster John Zogby. "The trip is a risky gambit because I don't think he's going to come home with much" in foreign policy accomplishments.
Zogby also saw a risk that the strains between the Bush administration and many European leaders -- while they will be tempered by the solemnity of the D-Day celebration -- may resurface to reinforce some of Kerry's criticisms.
The liberal media wants to set the desired outcomes and then pronounce the trip a failure if they are not met. In reality, the White House sets the policy and the goals, not the press.
Well I'm thinking about voting for Bush but not unless he can get those Europeans to like us again...... /sarcasm off.
Sheesh Zogby has come out of the closet entirely now. He's a flaming push poller if I ever saw one. Firmly rooting for Kerry.......
Is there any voter that is actually basing their decision on the things Zogby is talking about ?
Would seem to me if getting the europeans to like us mattered the voter would already have decided to go with the French Looking Candidate.
Risk? Well if you believe Zogby, he is on the ropes, right? Well, if he truly is behind then playing it safe won't help. What does he have to lose if he's already lost according to Zogby? Bush should be going for broke, making news, kicking butt and seizing the offense.
I think any poll from Zogby should be met with derision from this point on.
MONKEY MUFFINS!
"The trip is a risky gambit because I don't think he's going to come home with much" in foreign policy accomplishments.
The vast majority of sane Americans don't expect any changes in the Frogs or the Krauts, or even the useless UN for that matter. It's only Zogby's wet dream.
Prairie
The liberal press is so predictable. No matter what they will prounounce the trip a failure, or if they don't then they will bury the success of the trip
And how does Reuters plan to shore up their battered image?
(kind of anyway)
Oh, now John Zogby has become a political commentator! Gee whiz, I thought he was a pollster! Shucks, he neither a commentaor or a pollster! He's an unabashed butt licker for John Kerry and the "traitor" Democrat party! His polling from here on in is useless!
"traditional allies like France and Germany"
They broke that tradition, the hell with them.
It also gives him a chance to mark the 60th anniversary! Sheesh.
And you can bet there won't be any towels and bathrobes disappearing into White House personnel suitcases as they did when America's First Black President and his band of grifters were over there for the 50th anniversary.
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