[Vision2020] Professor, educate thyself....

[Joan Opyr]

On 21 Mar 2006, at 19:54, Chasuk wrote:

> On 3/21/06, ToeKneeTime at aol.com <ToeKneeTime at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> You say Bush has done more to destroy America's reputation than ANY 
>> AMERICAN
>> you know.  We are still recovering from eight years as the 
>> laughingstock of
>> the world thanks to Bill Clinton.  He confirmed the impression many
>> foreigners have of Americans as vulgar hedonists.
>
> I have tried to stay out of this, but this statement is too absurd to
> ignore.  I had the experience of living for half of my lifetime
> overseas, and can report that Reagan was largely considered a charming
> buffoon.  He actively made made foreigners laugh at us, and in droves.
>  Clinton was, and is, greatly admired.  Most of the world laughed
> themselves sick that Americans wasted so much time chasing our
> voyeuristic blowjob obsessions while ignoring real issues.  You are
> WAY off the mark, here.  If you don't trust my experiences, look at
> any polls.  Reagan was considered an unclever chimp, and Bush is
> considered his less intelligent successor.

I spent 1985-1986 living in Glasgow, Scotland.  Ronald Reagan was an 
enigma to the Scots, the English, the Norwegians -- in short, to every 
non US-citizen I ment.  No one could imagine how (or why) Americans had 
elected a man who seemed to them such an obvious corn-pone phony.  I 
frequently found myself in the awkward position of being called upon to 
answer for something Reagan had said or done -- like his insistence on 
calling the Soviet Union the "Evil Empire," or his bizarre remarks to a 
group of German schoolchildren about how "we" should have invited the 
Native Americans to become a part of the United States and not let them 
go about doing their own thing on reservations.  (No, I am not making 
this up.)  I soon grew tired of answering for Reagan, and tired of 
defending myself -- I didn't vote for him.  Eventually, I'd just snap 
that he was my President, not my father.  I was no more responsible for 
his actions than the British were for Margaret Thatcher's.  If they 
were willing to take the blame for the Falklands, then I'd be happy to 
answer for Grenada, but otherwise, how about some commiseration and a 
friendly pint?

Chasuk is quite right about Bill Clinton's reputation in Europe (and 
Toe-Knee, quelle surprise, is quite wrong).  Clinton remains a 
political hero in Ireland for his part in bringing about the Good 
Friday peace accords.  There's an enormous bronze statue of him in 
Northern Ireland and countless plaques honoring him throughout the 
Republic.  Anyone who has traveled or, better yet, lived abroad knows 
that Clinton was always quite popular outside the United States; the 
only British newspaper I remember calling for his head over the Monica 
Lewinsky affair was The Economist.

Who's the most popular U. S. President out there in the wider world?  
Jimmy Carter, of course.  A tireless peace activist, an international 
elections observer, a respected mediator -- Ford, Reagan, Bush the 
Elder, Clinton, and Bush the Younger didn't/don't hold a candle to 
Carter in terms of international stature.  I'm sure Toe-Knee will have 
something half-assed and snotty to say about Jimmy Carter, but actions 
speak louder than words.  Who's out building houses for Habitat for 
Humanity and who's raking in war bucks from the Carlyle Group?

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com