The “death spiral” rhetoric is just reassuring mood music, as far as I’m concerned.

I can assure you that the “death spiral” rhetoric is not even remotely reassuring. There is nothing I would welcome more than a culturally confident Europe united with America in defense of Western Civilization against resurgent Islamic imperialism.

But that is not the situation we face.

I would describe the situation for you, but there is no need since Joe Katzman over at Winds of Change has done it already, and done it better than I would:

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/008539.php

And apparently lying is the definition of good PR or a competent communications strategy according to some folks in Europe.

I agree that many pols who are slicker have found ways to support it and then ignore the fact that they are not even come close to meeting the guidlines and that realize that with China and India considered developing countries the treaty was flawed from the start but that isn’t diplomacy, that is plain B.S. If President Bush had implemented kyoto it would have been an economic dissaster, jobs would have been destroyed. Oh, those selfish Americans, they are being pissy about a massive recesion, how selfish.

Yet he is that after a fashion. Mr. Rossberg reached a deal in March to sell Dresden’s entire stock of 48,000 city-owned apartments to an American private equity firm, the Fortress Investment Group, for $1.2 billion. In a single stroke, Dresden wiped out its burdensome public debt.

–

You really want the deer-in-the-headlights look from someone ranting about our debt?

Just ask them do they include the assets we own outside the country when they’re making that statement?

Again, it’s not about communication.

— Refusing to sign up to Kyoto is the classic example: the right decision, as far as I can see, but incredibly mishandled by the Bush team.–

He could have explained it from here to eternity, but the world wouldn’t understand. It wasn’t up to W. One has to understand how we’re set up. The answer is in Article II. Section 2:

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

————–

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/008539.php

I’m posting the above link at your site for comment.

As regards the UK, I’ve always thought the US drastically over-estimated the degree of public support for the War on Terror.
All the emphasis on the ceremonials at Buckingham Palace etc gave Americans a misleading impression about the mood of this country. Maybe my own experience is misleading, but I’m astonished at the number of times this comes up in coversation with middle of the road Brits. I hate to use the K-word yet again, but the way the Kyoto decision was handled was catastrophic. Bush was probably right to pull out of the treaty, but to outsiders it looked as if he only cared about American jobs, not the future of the planet. OK, Bill Clinton would have made pious noises which would have been meaningless. But sometimes that’s what diplomacy is about.)

Obviously, none of this excuses the kind of anti-Americanism that’s rampant in media circles and elsewhere. You’re right to be irritated about that. But the mistakes do make things even worse than they need to be.

My other piece of advice is for conservatives to stop making such sweeping generalizations about “Europeans”. Europe isn’t a state, however much Jacques Chirac wishes it were. Yes, there were thousands of anti-war demonstrators on the streets in 2003, but there almost as many parading through US cities, weren’t there? The “death spiral” rhetoric is just reassuring mood music, as far as I’m concerned. In my experience, there are certain areas where the quality of life and expertise is higher in EU countries, and other major areas (Silicon Valley’s the obvious one) where the opposite is true. Simple as that. I’d be really wary of making long-term forecasts about where we’re all heading.

Lastly, I’d recommend reading this article on anti-Europeanism by Timothy Garton Ash. He hates anti-Americanism, but in this case he’s more interested in anti-Europeanism:

http://www.hooverdigest.org/032/ash2.html

And herein lies some of the bitter disappointment expressed above. Because that’s what we thought too! I return to my earlier comment, echoed by some other commenters, we read your papers, we hear your speeches. We are more aware than ever before of European attitudes.

What were the opinion polls showing before the invasion of Iraq? Was not the public wildly opposed to any support of “Bush’s war”? Were your streets, like those in France and Germany, not full of the very ugliest types of Anti-American protesters?

In spite of my many differences with him, your Prime minister has moved me to tears on more than one occasion with his eloquent arguments in support of the rightness, and righteousness, of the war on terror. I’ve turned to my wife and said, “How I wish our President had his gift with words.” Have his speeches resulted in a sudden outpouring of support for our cause? Not hardly.

So your impassioned plea for better communication falls on if not deaf, then at least tired, ears. When our very best, and indeed your prime minister’s very best, efforts are received with a willful ignorance, a studied refusal to entertain any world view but that of America the rogue giant – we get damned tired of making the futile effort. Willful spoiled children are not worth arguing with. Adults must do the adult thing, in spite of the temper tantrums.

The tipping point for me personally was the European reaction during the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The sheer level of venom directed at the US for supposedly not giving enough during the tsunami shocked me, as did the astoundingly relucant ‘aid’ Europeans gave us when we were dealing with Katrina. I am not rich; I had to sacrifice considerably to give the small amount I did to the Tsunami victims but I did it. And it felt like all of Europe spit on me for my trouble.

I will never think of Europeans the same way again. It will take years of work from both sides to repair this relationship… I doubt we will ever return to the closeness we once had. Then again, that was largely illusory. Americans simply used to be ignorant of how much Europeans hated us.