world votes for kerry

[VV o n g B a]

not an especially surprising poll outcome, but important nonetheless. they need to make a campaign commercial out of this and contrast it w/ how bush portrays his policy.

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If the world could vote, it's Kerry in a landslide
By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON - If the people of the rest of the world could vote in November's US elections, Democratic Senator John Kerry would beat President George W Bush in a landslide. That is the finding of a poll conducted by GlobeScan Incorporated and its affiliates during July and August of nearly 35,000 people in 35 countries in all regions of the world.

The survey, which was released by GlobeScan and the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) here on Wednesday, found that Kerry was favored over Bush by an average of 46% versus 20% in the 35 countries polled, but by a much larger margin among respondents in traditional US allies in Western Europe.

"Only one in five [wants] to see Bush re-elected," said Steven Kull, PIPA's executive director. "Though he is not as well known, Kerry would win handily if the people of the world were to elect the US president."

Majorities or pluralities of respondents in 30 out of the 35 countries polled said they preferred to see Kerry win, while in only three countries - the Philippines, Nigeria and Poland - was Bush the favored candidate.

The tally in two Asian countries, India and Thailand, showed the race to be within the margin of error of plus or minus 2.3-5 percentage points. In India, Kerry led Bush 34-33%, while in Thailand, Bush led Kerry 33-30%, according to the survey.

Particularly notable was the finding that among countries that have contributed troops to the US-led military operation in Iraq, not only was Kerry heavily favored, but respondents also said their view of US foreign policy has gotten worse under Bush. Countries that fell into this category included the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Japan, Norway and Spain.

full article (http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI10Aa01.html)

[AliBabaIncorporated]

"World votes for Kerry" ... hey, who gave these guys the vote? You know the deal. No representation without taxation. You want Kerry for president, pay up. Preferably in small, unmarked bills.

[VV o n g B a]

2nd term presidents often try to secure their place in history and a their foreign policy legacy is a big part of that. even if he does get back in office, i think he's gonna act differently so that his greatest legacy won't be that he turned most of the world against the US. world opinion isn't a vote exactly, but it's also not something bush wants to throw away either.

[ism]

The fact that the rest of the world knows more about American politics than the average American is. Well. Not that disturbing anymore. Sort of like how you just never thought about the possibility of total annihilation during the Cold War.

[mr. x]

well it has more to do with kerry's not-being-bush stance than anything else

[younggiftedandblack]

I think the rest of the World needs to solve their own problems first.

[Arex]

I think the rest of the World needs to solve their own problems first.
I think George W. Bush probably ranks pretty high among the problems plaguing the rest of the World. On the one hand, the fact that the U.S. is so despised now probably makes every other country that much less of a target for a terrorist attack. But if you're one of the U.S.'s allies, then Bush and his fucked up policy becomes a liability. And even if you're not an ally, seeing the mess Bush has made in Iraq is plenty cause for international concern over what happens in November.

Kerry needs to be very careful about how he spins this in his campaign. The overabundance of nationalistic pride in the U.S. (and a lack of understanding by many Americans that the U.S. cannot continue to alienate itself from the entire rest of the world) may cause many Americans to vote for Bush simply as a reaction to the "meddling foreigners" lining up behind Kerry.

RX

[Mr.Lum]

Kerry needs to be very careful about how he spins this in his campaign. The overabundance of nationalistic pride in the U.S. (and a lack of understanding by many Americans that the U.S. cannot continue to alienate itself from the entire rest of the world) may cause many Americans to vote for Bush simply as a reaction to the "meddling foreigners" lining up behind Kerry.

I agree. I think a vote for Bush is a vote for Imperialism. That's what neocons are, imperialists.

[SunWuKong]

"World votes for Kerry" ... hey, who gave these guys the vote? You know the deal. No representation without taxation. You want Kerry for president, pay up. Preferably in small, unmarked bills.

not that i'm saying that people who do not have US citizenship should get votes in the American presidential election, but the US being the sole global power that it is and with its eagerness to use its powers unilaterally, what the White House decides on a lot of times does affect everybody else around the world.

[Kuchana]

I think the rest of the World needs to solve their own problems first.

I'm with you there. Thankfully the world won't be voting. Americans will.

[Arex]

I'm with you there. Thankfully the world won't be voting. Americans will.
Unfortunately, based on the polls, I think I have more faith in non-Americans' abilities to see how truly fucked up a president George W. Bush has been. (Although I just heard that the more recent Gallup Poll has placed G.W. neck and neck with Kerry, both at 49%...about friggin' time!!)

This is not to say they (non-Americans) ought to have any say at all, just that they seem a bit more sensible than most Americans in these matters (from my own anti-Bush biased perspective, of course).=)

RX

[yoMAMA]

the global test, anyone?

[Shogun Empress]

The world is scared of Bush. Of course they don't want him re-elected. I wouldn't be surprised if Osama told his followers to vote for Kerry. I'd rather him do that then take down another building.

[kitty]

actually, i think most of the world thinks bush is foolish.

[Mr.Lum]

I'm with you there. Thankfully the world won't be voting. Americans will.

US presients usually have a bigger affect on foreigners than Americans, usually negative.

[SunWuKong]

I think the rest of the World needs to solve their own problems first.
I'm with you there. Thankfully the world won't be voting. Americans will.

what if America is their problem? remember, the US government has a tendency to get involved, and it makes the decision to do so unilaterally.

[Shuriken]

not an especially surprising poll outcome, but important nonetheless. they need to make a campaign commercial out of this and contrast it w/ how bush portrays his policy.

Conseratives already have a rejoinder to this. One pro-Bush letter-writer to the Baltimore Sun newspaper a few weeks ago said that the opinions of other countries don't really matter because they're not superpowers.

To me, the implication of her letter was that because the U.S. is a superpower, and the other countries aren't, then Bush's presidency must really count for something; a superpower can do no wrong.

Trying to reason with the unreasonable is pointless.

[Kuchana]

what if America is their problem? remember, the US government has a tendency to get involved, and it makes the decision to do so unilaterally.

How is this anything new? It happened even before Bush came to power and it's still going to happen after he's gone. America likes to interfere when they feel it's in their self-interest many times unfortunately.

[SunWuKong]

How is this anything new? It happened even before Bush came to power and it's still going to happen after he's gone. America likes to interfere when they feel it's in their self-interest many times unfortunately.

not that i'm saying foreigners should have the right to vote, but that just goes to justify why the world should take an interest and express their opinions on who should be president of the US.