All through the nightmare of Bush's illegitimate regime I have continued to travel. I have written about how uncomfortable people I've met have felt about Bush in Spain, in Turkey, in Indonesia, VietNam, Morocco, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, England, Holland... And every year, the discomfiture has grown. After he re-stole the White House in 2004, the hatred started getting less subtle.
Today the big news in Argentina is how Bush's puppet in Mexico, Felipe Calderón, inaugurated himself as president of Mexico at a slap-dash secret midnight ceremony in the wee hours of the night/morning with the connivance of the outgoing PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) president, Vicente Fox. Calderón stole the Mexican election from the rightful president, Andrés López Obrador, much the same way Bush was able to steal the 2000 election from Al Gore and the 2004 election from John Kerry-- and with the help of some of the very same crooked companies and treasonous methods of vote tampering.
I spent last night with some young Argentines who I met through my friend Tómas, a guy I've been in touch with via the Internet. Although Tómas' interest in politics is minimal, his friends are extremely interested. One, Maria, told me that American democracy, through thick and thin, has been a beacon of democracy for generations of Latin Americans. "Now tyrants all over the world are learning something else than democracy from Bush. They learn to steal elections and undermine democracy."
Did Tony Blair use Bush's methods in the last U.K. election? Does anyone doubt Putin will in the next Russian election? The very legitimacy of democracy itself has been undermined by Bush, not just in our country, but around the world.
Meanwhile in Mexico, Obrador has also declared himself the legitimate, elected President of Mexico. His supporters seem very determined to defend the democracy so many of their forefathers have given their lives for. Maybe Americans have something to learn from passionate democrats in Latin America. Al Gore and John Kerry certainly do.
I ate in a great new restaurant last night and I actually took notes and will do a review soon. Right now I'm too pissed off about Bush and democracy.
1 comment:
Howie,
Most Citizens of the USA have no idea of just how they are perceived by the rest of the world.
And I can assure you, in most cases and nations, it is not at all positive.
Bush has not only destroyed any moral high ground that Americans might have thought they had, but he has given people in almost every single nation worldwide real reason to distrust and (many do) indeed hate the US.
Believe it or not, but it's true.
The USA is not envied, it is disliked as arrogant and loud. And by sticking it's oar in when it's not wanted or needed.
All the while doing nothing in areas where it really could do some good.
Sorry for the harsh comment Howie, because I am a fan of your work.
(and) I do recognise the difference between the Government and the people of the US, but many don't, and with the 2004 election giving Bush EVEN MORE power this was more than most people outside the US could stand.
Fortunately the more recent Mid-Term elections showed that, albeit a bit slow, the voters showed that they do not want a Warmongering, Lying, Immoral, Incompetent Government and a Fool as President.
Unfortunately this thumping (in Bushes own words) seems to have been completely lost on this power crazed sociopath.
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