In a great article from the National Review (subscribers can view it here), Jay Nordlinger sets out the facts of the matter: although the general consensus is that US relations have worsened, in many cases they have actually improved or stayed the same. Look at relations with Brown, Sarkozy, Merkel, and Berlusconi. And what about the Dutch, the Danes and the Eastern Europeans? The only European government with which relations have worsened is Spain, Nordlinger explains. Furthermore, Nordlinger says that the American image in Africa is quite good, partly because of Bush’s programs on AIDS and malaria. More countries join the list: India (with whom we are at an all time high), Japan, South Korea, China, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Of course, there are some Latin American countries that do not quite agree with us (Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba), but this is because of their anti-democratic stance. In the Middle East, we have vowed to defend Israel, and still keep strong relations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Our traditional allies are still with us- Australia, Canada, Turkey, and Israel.

Yes, the global elites hate Bush. But Nordlinger points out that our relations are generally in the same shape, if not better. In the article, Jay Nordlinger includes what I think to be an incredibly strong response from Bush:

“I’d rather be respected than liked… You can get short-term popularity in the Middle East if you want, by blaming all problems on Israel. That’ll make you popular. You can be popular in certain salons of Europe if you say, ‘Okay, we’ll join the International Criminal Court.’ I could have been popular if I’d said, ‘Oh, Kyoto is the way to deal with the environmental problem.’ That would have made me liked. It would have made me wrong, however. And, ultimately, you earn people’s respect by articulating a set of principles and standing by them… Popularity comes and goes. It just does. It comes and goes for an individual or a nation — but principles are enduring.”