Americans, what do you think of these poll results?

Question

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1797771,00.html?gusrc=rss.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5077984.stm

Answer 1

I think the results are irrelevent without knowing the nature and wording of the questions asked and the "15 countries" that were used in the poll.

Answer 2

I am not surprised. Nor do I disagree with the poll results.

Many Americans are terrified of Bush, so it's no surprise that people in other countries are. What makes this a doubly touchy situation is the fact that since many of them don't live here, they're not getting to hear the voices of concerned Americans, and members of the armed forces are not going to actively vocalize their disagreement with their boss. Whether they disagree or not isn't even the point; they're doing their jobs by going wherever the President determines they should go. But then it's not the military that these people are afraid of, it's the leader who says that members of the American armed forces have to put their lives on the line in order to follow one of his personal agendas. Given the histories of various European countries, the people in those countries are all going to be reminded of the long line of dictators who have killed millions for the same sorts of reasons.

America has done a LOT for the world, and presidents like Bush are using that as an excuse to make decisions FOR the rest of the world. His partisain predecessor Reagan is often cited for bringing about the collapse of Communism, but the key difference between Reagan and Bush (whether you like Reagan or not) was he could at least speak his way through an entire sentence. And as for him bringing about the end of an "evil empire" well...I guess all of those former Soviets who did all of the uprising themselves deserve none of the credit. It was all us, right? Every image we have of the Berlin Wall going down and little old babushkas ("grannies") in Red Square just so happen to "accidentally" miss the scores of troops we've sent to Russia and every other former Soviet Bloc country. Ah. Yeah, right... If THAT's the case, then I'm the King of England!.

Answer 3

I think how America is portrayed internationally also is upsetting to a great deal of Americans. Half of the voting country didn't select the current president, and that half must watch as decision making at the highest level impacts our image internationally.
I dislike the idea of America being feared by other countries and also dislike the idea that our government very likely has given strong reasoning for those feelings.
I personally do not fear Iran, and do hope for less Nuclear presence worldwide.

Answer 4

I agree. Think about it: Right after 9/11/01, almost the entire world was on our side and had sympathy for us. We'd been attacked without provocation. Five years later, we are viewed as a bigger threat to world peace than Iraq. What happened between then and now? Our illustrious President, who seems to think he's in some sort of cowboy movie, has made it clear that he is the "decider" for...everything. What gives us the right to invade countries and foist our system of government on them? Nobody likes a bully, and this country behaves like the snotty rich kid at school who tries to buy friends and bullies his enemies.

Answer 5

A poll of French and German people who are against liberation - what a shock!

A poll of Muslim people who are against the dismantling of an Islamic theocracy and the building of a democracy - what a shock!

That a world of people who don't read anything except the headlines would be unaware of the issue they're being polled about - what a shock!

Answer 6

US seen as a bigger threat to peace than Iran, worldwide poll suggests

· Findings also show fall in support for war on terror
· Decline in America's image 'all to do with Iraq'

What else is new?

Answer 7

I don't think they're a surprise. Many of us here are appalled at pretty much everything the Bush administration does, and often feel embarrassed when asked by international friends or people met while traveling abroad about our government.

Answer 8

I think polls are pretty worthless. #1 If you want to get a certain result in a poll you can poll certain areas you know are likely to vote in your favor. #2 You always have to know how the question was phrased. #3 America should do what is right, even if its not popular.

Answer 9

people in the world hated Ronnie as well, and he saved their asses from the evil empire, and went down as one of the greatest world leaders. Bush is not president of the world, he is president of the USA. Screw the rest of the world. They would be speaking German if it was not for us, so those damn foreigners can all take a flying **** for all I care.

Answer 10

why don't we just pull are troops home lock down our borders and let the rest of the world kill each other until they have no one close to attack than when they attack us we can just give up really quick just to keep the piece