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| English: Southern Europe, feeling red with anger (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Romney (Photo credit: Talk Radio News Service) |
During the last debate with Obama, I had noticed that Romney mentioned how the Obama government spending would lead America straight into a situation like Greece's. At the time, that was picked up by few people: presumably, the American electorate of Greek descent is not very large and the remark passed (nearly) unnoticed. But this time, he really put his foot in it, this is BIG! Americans of Italian descent and Hispano-Americans are millions! Do they enjoy the way Romney disparages the old home country? If Romney ever wins and becomes the next American President, he can be certain that he will not be received with roses in Southern Europe. Right now, they all see RED!
Particularly if you consider - as most Europeans do - that both the 2008 Big Recession and the unprecedented swell in the American debt have been the work of a succession of Republican administrations, starting with Reagan's deregulation and ending with Bush's two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan. So if Southern Europe is in the mess it is in today, it is largely as a result of a complex series of events that can be traced to both the collapse of Wall Street in 2008 and the American wars in the Middle East. Sure, local corruption and the dead weight of bureaucracy and red tape have added to the pain, but it all began as a result of investors looking to line their pockets through attacking the Sovereign Debt of relatively weak states (after Dubai in 2009 they moved to Greece, remember?)
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| US President Barack Obama and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Over here, on this side of the pond, we are all keeping our fingers crossed...for Obama! And if Republicans really can't stomach Obama, hopefully they will abstain and not vote for a man who is certain to create havoc in the international community, turning it from a "community" to a theater of war in his determination to make of America a new "uber alles" nation...
Comments
The only US President who made a full on effort to preserve relations with Europe - not offend them - was JFK and he botched it a few times. Which means, of course, that it's not possible to favor some states without offending others. Even Obama has offended a few, not only at the expense of US foreign relations but also to the detriment of his popularity in the US. So the idea that any president can lead without offending someone is a bit off the mark and the point.
For the record, it was Bill Clinton who deregulated banking and securities and that contributed a lot to the financial woes of the US in recent years. And I like Clinton.
I'm not sure I "like" Romney but I do think he will be better for the US economy than Obama and we at least know exactly what he is religiously even if we can't agree. That is a side of Obama that he keeps close to the chest. It's a mystery.
Ennis has already addressed the fallacy of your assertion that Republican administrations have been the root cause of the American debt crisis. He touched on one aspect in mentioning that deregulation of banking and securities here occurred on Clinton's watch (not because of Clinton if I may be permitted to correct him). It was the Dodd Frank Bill that did the most damage. Also, the short-lived period of deficit reduction that occurred while Clinton was President was the result of a Republican controlled Congress. The spending went up again as the Democrats returned.
Finally, yes, Obama is far more popular in Europe than America. And, let me again offer to drive him to the airport for you. In fact, I imagine that I could easily collect contributions to pay for his airfare.