I know, the title sounds crazy. However, I'm not referring to the president's sinking poll numbers here at home. In Africa, Bush's approval rating is well over 80%. It may seem surprising at first, but that area of the world, a place that has seen countless years of disease, starvation, and war, generally has a positive view of the United States.
On Tuesday, President Bush visited Rwanda and met with President Paul Kagame, the man who led the resistance against the brutal Hutu militias that ended up slaughtering almost a million innocent people in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. During the visit, he toured the genocide memorial, and pledged to keep up the pressure on the Sudanese regime for its atrocities in Darfur. The President's other contributions to Africa include spending nearly 15 billion dollars to combat HIV/AIDS across the continent, with similar actions being taken to fight malaria. He has also granted billions of dollars in African debt relief and has offered much support in Africa's quest to move forward into the 21st century. In the end, the lives of many Africans have improved because of the administration's policies.
Odds are though, this isn't the big story out there you'll be hearing on the news. No, the media and President's growing number of critics would rather focus on an economic recession and his falling poll numbers here in the US, along with the obsession over all things negative in Iraq. At the same time, the two buffoons better known as Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are given a pass as the promises they made during the '06 elections come up empty.
Maybe the president is not the aweful man he is all too often villified as.
Wow
6 years ago
42 comments:
Osama bin Laden '08:
Messenger of Peace,
Prophet of Change
Osama is a man of change, yet he seeks to preserve family, tradition, and religious values. He wants to stop the collapse of society, putting the individual into context. He visions setting the family forth as the basis of society. He seeks to put the legal system where it belongs: in local communities. And he wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and re-create the gold standard.
Osama '08 - bin Laden for President: http://www.osama08.com
Osama would certainly be a better president than Bush.
The only problem with Osama is that he doesn't have much experience as a head of state. Sure, his experience as a leader of Al-Qaeda and other salafist groups that preach combat and "resistance" certainly makes him an interesting candidate, but the American people are looking for a true leader. With his 24 years of experience as a head of state, Saddam Hussein would have been the right choice to bring the "change" Americans are hungry for. Unfortunately, since he is no longer with us, I move to nominate Fidel Castro. Now that he's stepped down as leader of Cuba, maybe he'd be up to the job of President of the United States (Osama can take the VP job if he wants it). After all, who can top 49 years of experience as president?
C.H. As I pointed out on the Angry Arab, your claim that the approval ratings are for Bush is incorrect. The numbers are favorability ratings for the U.S. Also, only 3 of the surveyed countries in Africa gave favorability ratings of greater than 80%. There are always good reasons to go back to the original source instead of relying on things like editorials.
Obviously you've had a very hostile reception at the Angry Arab blog. Most of this is due to your views, which you shouldn't be expected to change (of course you should constantly challenge your assumptions and be willing to change). However, in my opinion you do need to dump some lingo that I think damages your credibility. Just look for any phrases that you would find in a "popular" conservative source (e.g. Rush Limbaugh) but not in a mainstream source (a respected print publication) and I think you'll see what I'm getting at. It is exactly like someone who says "imperialist" every other word and it tends to label someone as an inflexible ideologue.
Don't get scared off--there are many bizarre people on both sides. Keep in mind that many of these people grew up in these areas, many at war, and there are reasons why they are so angry. As an extreme example "Barabie" calls everyone a "Jewish maggot". I believe she has also lost a number of relatives in Palestine. I recall that she had a Jewish girlfriend in her past and I assume that created some additional hard feelings.
And of course there are just as many crazy people on the other side. There seem to be many more "Swedens" and "Kaheins" than there are "vzas". I suspect many moderate people are not vocal and I also suspect that many moderate Jews feel particularly uncomfortable on the blog. They get attacked relentlessly from both sides.
In principle one should be able to disagree with anyone no matter what their views are. In practice this is rare. I've seen "Sweden" for example a number of times jump up and down with glee about how many Iraqis have died in Iraq as "retaliation" for 9/11. Nobody on his own "side" argues with him. On the A.A. you will rarely find anyone who challenges you who is not out for blood. It's unfortunate.
I hope you're planning to write an article about your experiences and observations of the A.A. at some point. That could be very funny--and more than a little bit disturbing.
c.h.
I thought you might also find this amusing. I was talking politics yesterday with my cousin, who is a hardcore Republican visiting from Texas. We were talking about the candidates--she really doesn't like Huckabee and thinks McCain is crazy (apparently she has heard this from several close sources). She thinks Huckabee will win the primary in Texas. She says she will vote for McCain in November, although she is thinking of sitting out the election all together.
Then Ron Paul came up. She used to be very active in Republican politics when she lived in Ron Paul's district. She absolutely detests the man and can't even stand to hear the mention of his name.
Her views on Obama are strange, especially since she has a doctorate in education. She thinks he's a Muslim. When I pointed out to her that he's not, she said well those 2 years of schooling must have affected him at a vulnerable age. She insists there's no doubt he has Muslim tendencies. I decided it wasn't even worth trying to argue.
C.H.
Here's the full Pew poll:
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=256
If you have problems with the URL, search:
"Global Unease With Major World Powers"
Yet another post:
In the Pew article, click the link for the full 133 page report. It's full of interesting data about world opinions. One thing surprising--favorability ratings in Africa for China are about the same as for the U.S. Moreover, people in all countries polled except S. Africa thought that China's influence is more positive (double digits) than America's. See p. 49.
I am aware of the fact that the question asked to the people of Africa was "do you view America favorably?". Perhaps I could have worded it better. Never the less, the facts I provided about Bush's heroic efforts in Africa are true...and the flag-waving supporters chanting praise in the streets as the president visited were also true. Given the current political situation here at home, I'd say that's pretty amazing, wouldn't you say so?
You made some good points. Especially about the Angry Arab (to be honest, I did not even know barabie was a girl). When I comment on that site, I have no intention of being aggressive or mean-spirited, as a growing number of other commentators are. I just want to provide an alternative viewpoint, and show people that America (and yes, our president) are not the aweful people they are made out to be. To be honest, I disagree with many things Bush says, but I've always supported his foriegn policy. Just the same, the most important point I have tried to make in this post is that the world has an obligation to help people who are suffering, wherever they may be. Bush's meeting with Kagame was the main highlight, and if people can go away understanding that we must continue to work together to solve these problems, then I have succeeding by writing this post.
Also, it's obvious that the NY Sun editorial may favor Bush, but just the same, a comment that appeared in the A.A. provided a story about Obama's favorability ratings in Africa...and they were high, like Bush's. Obviously, that is to be expected, seeing as Obama's father was African.
When I write about the favorability ratings of the president or the country in far away lands, I am simply making the point that unity and understanding is the best solution to solving the problems around the world. In the end, I think you and I can agree on that, after reading your posts. You seem like a moderate, free-thinking individual, and that is a very good thing.
In the end, I don't care about Bush. I don't care about his legacy, and I don't care how other people view him. However, if his policies include taking a stand against genocide and helping suffering people, than let his name be praised.
Okay, so the survey may not be asking the direct question "do you approve of President Bush's policies", but the majority of responders in sub-saharan Africa claimed to have a positive view of the USA. In a couple countries, the approval rating for the USA was almost 90%, with others in the 70's and 80's. Personally, I find that impressive. This is only an assumption, but if you put the facts that many Africans have a positive view of the US and the crowds of cheering supporters in the capitals of Tanzania, Ghana, and Benin together, its safe to say it definetely reflects positively on president Bush. Whether you like him or not, its hard to dispute.
Also, I agree with C.H...you can argue against the war in Iraq and condemn the president here at home, but his policies in Africa are without a doubt having a very positive impact on the world.
Well said Andy...that's a good point, I couldn't agree more.
Of course there is some correlation between Bush's popularity and U.S. favorability ratings--I'm sure he would fare much worse in Turkey (9% favorability), Palestinian territories (13%), Pakistan (15%), Morocco (15%), etc. However, the degree of correlation is unclear. Keep in mind that in spite of Bush's low popularity, 80% of Americans have a favorable opinion of their own country. I suspect this doesn't vary dramatically depending on who the President is.
The poll results were released several months after Obama announced his candidacy; it's certainly possible that people in Kenya at least were impressed that someone of their heritage is a viable candidate in a country where whites have historically held power.
Also in the survey: the countries are broken down as to their approval of U.S. movies and TV (only 4% of Pakistanis approve), science and technology, and whether it's good that American ideas and customs are spreading there (p. 6). All of these have little to do with the President and they certainly can go well beyond the effects of government policy. Of course the countries that rank the U.S. high in these areas also tend to rank the U.S. high overall. Countries that dislike the U.S. often think that American movies and ideas corrupt the youth and so on.
Andy, I notice you list Tanzania as a place where there were cheering crowds. Tanzania gave the U.S. a 46% positive rating (39% negative). Maybe cheering crowds for Bush don't strongly correlate with overall U.S. favorability.
So the poll results vary, but even you seem to agree it is impressive that many in Sub-Saharan Africa approve of the United States, as opposed to Europe, or as you pointed out, various Middle Eastern countries. Odds are, many of the respondants in Morocco and Turkey disapprove of the president because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just the same, many in Sub-Saharan Africa could very well be giving the thumbs up to the good ol' USA because of positive things Bush has done in that region, including dramatically improving the lives of many Africans by providing billions of dollars to eradicate AIDS/HIV.
In the end, no one can be 100% sure about how the ENTIRE continent of Africa feels about the president. Volunteer coordinators I have talked to in Tanzania claim that many of the people they work with have a positive view of the United States, as well as the west. Given, the agency deploys volunteers to build houses and improve communities, but it is percisely those reasons that some Africans like us. Next year, I plan on traveling to Tanzania to do some volunteer work for a couple months, so I'll be able to what the situation is like on the ground myself.
c.h.
Tanzania sounds very cool. Have fun.
Hopefully we'll have a half-African President at that point!
BTW, the most recent smear campaign--the photo of him in traditional Somalian clothes--was really inappropriate. It's sad how much hostility there is towards Muslims in the U.S.
I couldn't agree more. Whoever released that photo should be ashamed of themselves, especially because they assumed Americans might change their opinion on Obama simply because he was wearing African garments. So the man was experiencing another culture in a country his hertitage originates from, so what?
Whoever released the photo is obviously to afraid to debate the real issues and wanted to use "Islamaphobia" as a means to sway voters' opinions.
It's pretty pathetic...
United States historically ranks among the lowest contributors of foreign aid per capita amongst the worlds wealthiest nations and this hasn't changed under GWB. The United States has paid lip service to Sudan for their crimes in Darfur and yet didn't lift a finger to help out and put an end to the killing. However, they did have the money and time to fund and often directly participate in the invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia in late 2006. Africa is the only continent in the world with a majority Muslim Population,
most of the people living under the rule of dictators and authoritarian regimes, when your starving and living on less than a dollar a date and some wealthy looking westerner comes to you and asks " Hey what do you think of the United States?" You would probably respond with something positive in the hopes of getting a small payoff in return. Maybe I'm going out on a limb here. It is plausible that Africans can have a positive view of the United States, however it is misleading and I would be willing to bet my life savings on the fact that Bush's approval ratings in Africa are no where near 80%. I sure would like to see where and how they made their surveys, 'country side vs City, sample size, ethnic make up of sample etc...'
An opinionated African
Hello,
I keep coming to this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]Lots of good information here unitedworldforpeace.blogspot.com. I am sure due to busy scedules we really do not get time to care about our health. Let me show you one truth. Recent Scientific Research points that nearly 70% of all USA grownups are either fat or overweight[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] Hence if you're one of these individuals, you're not alone. Infact many among us need to lose 10 to 20 lbs once in a while to get sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? Quick weight loss can be achived with little effort. If you improve some of your daily diet habbits then, its like piece of cake to quickly lose weight.
About me: I am webmaster of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also mentor who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under painful training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for effortless weight loss.
A day later and I was ready togo. Kitty Kat was breathing heavily now, her knees gave out and she collapsed against her masterful lover as he fondled her mercilessly.
female masturbation with cucumbers stories
hot sexy love stories
black and white interracial sex stories
free sexy pics stories
erotic stories taboo
A day later and I was ready togo. Kitty Kat was breathing heavily now, her knees gave out and she collapsed against her masterful lover as he fondled her mercilessly.
[url=http://www.firstboots.co.uk][img]http://www.firstboots.co.uk/images/ugg-boots.jpg alt="ugg boots cheap" title="Australia ugg"[/img][/url] house slippers for men http://www.likeboots.co.uk
[url=http://www.kindboots.co.uk/#s9x67u15v][b]ugg cheap[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.likeboots.co.uk/#p7d93j74v][b]www.likeboots.co.uk[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.wholeboots.co.uk/#n4f09a73c][b]cheap ugg[/b][/url]
vbscript bible free ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/es/Changing-Patrons-Social-Identity-and-the-Visual-Arts-in-Renaissance-Florence/p224974/ school ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/es/I-Scott-Mackenzie/m51630/]c s forester hornblower ebook free[/url] ebook devices reviews
tao of pooh ebook http://audiobooksplanet.co.uk/Visual-Basic-Game-Programming-for-Teens-Third-Edition/p218873/ ebook tablets [url=http://audiobooksplanet.co.uk/Healing-Your-Holiday-Grief-100-Practical-Ideas-for-Blending-Mourning-and-Celebration-During-the-Holiday-Season-Healing-Your-Grieving-Heart-series/p212522/]reflections harcourt ebook[/url] ebook dead man walking book prejean
geoage software http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/fr/product-36882/PremiumSoft-Navicat-for-MySQL-Enterprise-Edition-10-0 wiki tcl tk software [url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/fr/product-35363/3herosoft-FLV-Converter-3-5-MacOSX]blackberry desktop pim software[/url] accountaing software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/it/category-9/Antivirus-e-Securiti]Antivirus e Securiti - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] parent internet monitoring software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/de/product-37212/MetaProducts-Offline-Explorer-Pro-4-8][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/5.gif[/img][/url]
Outstanding post however I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this
subject? I'd be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Cheers!
Here is my webpage - http://amateursfucking.info/?q=amateur+mature&f=m
Hey exceptional blog! Does running a blog such as this require a massive amount work?
I have virtually no understanding of programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near
future. Anyway, if you have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners
please share. I know this is off topic but I simply
had to ask. Appreciate it!
Look at my site ... eurosexparty.ws
I always used to read paragraph in news papers but now as I am
a user of net therefore from now I am using net for articles or reviews, thanks to web.
Here is my website ... Into Petite Gangbangs
This website was... how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found
something which helped me. Cheers!
Feel free to surf to my web site; http://Actingalert.com/index.php?do=/profile-2584/info/
Also see my site > more
Hi I am so excited I found your website, I really found you by mistake, while I was researching on Google for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like
to say thanks for a marvelous post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design),
I don't have time to go through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the awesome work.
my web page; simply click the up coming website
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The words in your content seem to be running off the screen in Ie.
I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I'd post to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon.
Cheers
Also visit my web-site - please click the up coming article
Hello Dear, are you actually visiting this site daily, if so after that you will
definitely obtain pleasant experience.
Feel free to surf to my web page Email Console
[url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/catalogue/u.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/7.jpg[/img][/url]
walgreens mail service pharmacy provider http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/propranolol.htm pharmacy tech certification registration [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/categories/arthritis.htm]pharmacy employment trends newspaper article[/url]
matthew dolan cvs pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/myambutol.htm pharmacy automation artromick [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/hangoff-helper.htm]hangoff helper[/url]
hagerman valley pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/accutane.htm lamotrigine canadian online pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/lioresal.htm]hawaii board of pharmacy[/url]
hardin county discount pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/viagra-super-active-plus.htm research topics in pharmacy practice [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/lithium-carbonate.htm]lithium carbonate[/url]
Hey very nice blog!
Also visit my weblog agree with
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all folks you
really understand what you're talking about! Bookmarked. Please additionally visit my site =). We can have a hyperlink exchange contract among us
My homepage: http://pornharvest.com/index.php?m=2186162
It is appropriate time to make some plans for the longer term and
it is time to be happy. I've read this post and if I may I desire to counsel you some interesting things or advice. Maybe you can write next articles regarding this article. I wish to read more things about it!
Here is my page; http://www.merlinfroyd.com/index.php/member/8767/
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I do not know who you are but definitely you're going to a famous blogger if you aren't already ;) Cheers!
My web blog: A replacement
Hello very cool website!! Man .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I will bookmark your
web site and take the feeds also? I am satisfied to find a lot of useful information
right here within the post, we'd like work out more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Feel free to surf to my web page :: a porno website
I do agree with all the concepts you've offered on your post. They're really convincing and will definitely work.
Nonetheless, the posts are very brief for novices.
May you please prolong them a little from subsequent time?
Thank you for the post.
my site :: Highly recommended Website
Quality posts is the important to be a focus for the users to visit the website, that's what this web site is providing.
Also visit my web-site - Email Console
Hello, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other
then that, amazing blog!
Look into my homepage Skip Navigation
Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that
it is really informative. I am gonna watch out for
brussels. I'll appreciate if you continue this in future. Lots of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Look at my website: FTV Girls fashion sets the standard for stunning models
I visited various websites except the audio
quality for audio songs existing at this web site is genuinely marvelous.
Here is my web blog; click here
Good article! We will be linking to this particularly great article on our
website. Keep up the good writing.
my webpage - see it here
I really like your blog.. very nice colors &
theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire
someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I'm looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thank you
my weblog: Theres more to thanksgiving dinner than turkey
Does your website have a contact page? I'm having problems locating it but, I'd like
to shoot you an e-mail. I've got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
Feel free to surf to my web page - a college
Post a Comment