McCain Introduces Broadband Bill > And to think I voted for McCain for President!

And to think I voted for McCain for President!

You should hear what most foreign people think of Bush and the US foreign policy. I am heavily involved in business in Europe and East Asia. In situations where frank speaking is appropriate, most of my foreign contacts say they regard Bush as an unscrupulous, ignorant, arrogant fool - a perfect symbol of US foreign policy. There is a lot of respect for Collin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, but many believe they will leave the government soon out of frustration.

These foreign people have a lot of their own foreign policy successes to crow about...BOSNIA/YUGOSLAVIA(the Americans had to come and put some kind of order there after Europe just went running around in circles with their hands up in the air.) When a European site gets bombed the Europeans government just put out the fires, sit around and cluck their toungues while making wild speeches about how there must even be more aid to third world nations(and asking Americans to pay more of it so they don't have to. We Americans supported GW who actually had the cajones to go after the source of terrorism itself.) I enjoy watching the foreign policy antics of the Indian and Pakistani governments in keeping the peace in their regions as well, LOL(does anyone remember Tom Lehrer's song "....so long mom..I'm off to drop the bomb so don't wait up for me!") Before you cringe in fear at the comments that our foreign neighbors make about our president,just you look about objectively at the messes our foreign neighbors' governments make of their own foreign policies!

While I understand what you are saying, the policies of the current administration are alienating even our allies.

While much of what you say is true, the U.S. is believed overseas to to arrogant, demanding, and self-interested. There really is a bad perception problem. Ironically this negative view stems from the fact that the U.S. is always trying to help out. It's perceived as self-gratifying meddling.

Which the U.S. is often guilty of, true... *but at least we try*. Our critics blame their own failings on us, and scapegoat the U.S. at any chance they get. This is why the current Admin's policies are especially damaging, because they provide all the fodder our foes ever could need.

And when we hold back and do nothing we are being accused of going isolationist and cowboy renegade...actually we really should try that for a change. You want to know how to get rid of a yearly 200 billion dollar hole in our budget? Renounce our defense treaties with Europe and locations in Asia and make them pay for their own defense.(remember the 200 billion dollar deficits that clinton had originally planned in his budgets into the early 2000's...that congress supposedly knocked down....this was based on our continuing these foreign defense postures. If you analyse the yearly deficits from the 80's on and contrasted those costs with the costs of maintaining our military at disparate places across the globe you'll find that they matched and will continue to match...so much for a peace dividend.
So I say lets not force our view on the world rather let the world view the removal of all US military force out all foreign venues. The fact of the matter is when there were two super powers in the world the rest of the world felt safer playing the 2 off on one another. It might have been considered great sport amongst the world's diplomats to regularly bait the top 2 like bears. Now for the forseeable future there is only one and they fear us and envy us. It wouldn't matter if we were the nicest country with the most kindest leaders and wisest souls,we'd still get criticism. Heck if every American were like Jesus Christ the rest of the world would just crucify us if they had the chance.
We are a democratically elected representative republic and most of the world just doesn't get what that means. It isn't that GW Bush is a rugged individualist cowboy extremist who just does his own thing and let the world be damned, rather he and the legislature and courts represent the body politic..the country itself and its people that put those men there whether or not you agree with the current crop at the top or not. {After-all there is always the next election! }