Pro-American Competence
And it has declined—drastically. Since 2002, according to the newest edition of the German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Trends survey, support for “U.S. leadership in world affairs”—that’s whether they want to follow our political lead, not whether they think we’re nice—has plunged by 30 percentage points in Germany.
I was recently asked whether I would prefer the United States or China as “the” global leader: easy answer. Apparently we’ll see more leaders in the future: India, Brasil and Japan. But at the end of the day we need a healthy and competent US of A. One that steps up to the plate, fights just causes and supports democratic development.
Right now, the States needs to clean up their own act, restore civil liberties and install better management, there is enough “Vergangenheitbewältigung” ahead. We need a government that listens to other nations; to listen is a great quality, acting upon the information acquired is a whole other issue. Top managers are good communicators who build trust and are competent, both of which the current administration is seriously lacking.
Being the best you can be requires win-win situations for everyone involved. Hollywood is moving ahead with thoughtful war flicks, the new president is next, with much to repair on the world stage. If any nation is optimistic about the future, it’s America, it does require coming to terms with the past, which is the biggest challenge. It’s time to find solutions.
Comments
Funny, I was thinking about exactly this. Anne Applebaum in the Wash Post came to a similar conclusion about the biggest foreign offense against the US in Iraq (Why They Don't Like Us) from the TransAtlantic Trends study: mismanagement. And this from a president with a friggin' MBA, the so-called business president. Obama, as you link, would do wonders for repairing the US's global image, an image problem still too many Americans don't even know they have -- hmmm, isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place?
Benji; October 3, 2007 3:42 PM
Mismanagement and decline in trust usually go hand-in-hand. I think Obama has a good shot at improving the image, he's less "in" the swamp than Clinton whose well-oiled campaign machine lacks the charisma and authenticity. I wonder when Obama will pull out the Iraq card.
Gerd; October 3, 2007 10:50 PM