"Friday, October 1

Over the past few days, I've been asking every German I meet whom they would like to see win the American election in November. They are unanimous in their preference for Kerry; they detest Bush. I have also asked them if they know anybody who likes Bush; they all say no, they don't know anybody who likes Bush. It appears, then, that a huge majority of Germans would be unhappy with the USA if we were to re-elect President Bush.

Of course, Germans don't vote in our election and one could argue that it's none of their business. Actually, it IS their business, because the decisions of the American President will have a big impact on their lives. So they do have a valid interest in the election, even if they have no right to vote in it. But that's not the point I want to make. I think the intensity of German feeling (and very likely, the feelings of billions of other people) is worthy of some consideration. If we ignore those feelings and re-elect Mr. Bush, we'll be sending a strong message to the rest of the world that we don't give a damn about them. That, of course, is our right. But later on, when we need some cooperation from them (and cooperation is vital to the global economy), we shouldn't be surprised if they tell us to go to hell."