Think Progress

Global ‘enthusiasm’ for Bush’s departure.»

The 2008 U.S. elections are attracting an “eager” audience worldwide. This past week, for example, major British newspapers “devoted more than 87 pages to news of the U.S. primaries, including 22 front-page stories.” Much of the enthusiasm, according to the Washington Post, is for the end of the Bush presidency:

bushdoor.jpg But much of the enthusiasm comes from anticipation of President Bush’s departure, according to several analysts. U.S. prestige and popularity in much of the world have sunk to historic lows since Bush took office, over such issues as the Iraq war and climate change. Many analysts said the election has created high expectations that the new president will be more in tune with the rest of the world.

“In many capitals people have been waiting for this change for some time,” said Rosa Balfour, a senior analyst at the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based research group.




Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date

79 Responses to “Global ‘enthusiasm’ for Bush’s departure.”

  1. GSD Says:

    Oh, remember when Rush Limbaugh was so concerned that Bill Clinton had tarnished America’s reputation.

    Funny stuff.

    -GSD


  2. bilbobaggins Says:

    “In many capitals people have been waiting for this change for some time,” said Rosa Balfour, a senior analyst at the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based research group.

    They haven’t been waiting for it nearly as long as we have. We have been in the middle of this nightmare for the last 7 years. We so need a new day and a new Democratic president.


  3. tballou Says:

    They’re not the only ones looking forward to this change. I cant wait to see how the right wing spin machine works this one!


  4. Mimo Says:

    Let’s get rid of this idiot.


  5. tom Says:

    That picture is priceless — the presiDunce who can’t even get off stage without looking like a complete moron.

    I can believe that the rest of the world is eager for his departure. How could they be anything but eager . . . just like the majority of Americans.


  6. Proud American Liberal Says:

    Bush leaving–that must be the 45% approval rating the White House was talking about.


  7. jb Says:

    W., the time for honoring yourself will soon come to an end.


  8. leftcoast Says:

    “While officially every European government welcomed the re-election of Bush, the prevailing mood on the continent (if I may engage in a ridiculously sweeping generalization!) still seems to be one of shock and awe that Americans actually re-elected this man.”
    “Before Bush’s re-election, the prevailing attitude in Europe was definitely: “We’re not anti-American. We’re anti-Bush.” But now that the American people have voted to re-elect Bush, Europe has a problem maintaining this distinction.” Tom Friedman 2005

    http://findarticles.com/ p/ articles/ mi_qn4188/ is_20050122/ ai_n11502197


  9. GSD Says:

    “Bush leaving–that must be the 45% approval rating the White House was talking about.

    Comment by Proud American Liberal — January 12, 2008″

    But he never spends time worrying about polls and he isn’t concerned about his legacy, until of course he talks ad nauseum about how history will judge him.

    -GSD


  10. jb Says:

    “ad nauseum” pretty well sums up W’s legacy.


  11. Arn Gunnutes Says:

    TRAITOR Bush is STILL trying to tie up our troops long-term in Iraq by forming “coalitions” without the consent of Congress, thus tying the

    hands of the next president, surely a Democrat.

    http://www.newsweek.com/id/91651

    If it happens, TRAITOR Bush needs to go to Iraq for the REST OF HIS LIFE.

    Which wouldn’t be long there…

    Sincerely,

    NRA Gun Nutes


  12. Bad Eye Says:

    A couple of weeks ago I ran across a calendar that counted down Bush’s final days in office. Accompanied by photos such as the one at the top of the thread are a selection of Bushisms. Classic, I tell you!


  13. Pete Bogs Says:

    this is actually a bad photo show, as it depicts Bush as unable to leave… we don’t want that now, do we?


  14. nellre Says:

    How many believe the two elections that got him into office were rigged?
    I know I do.
    So I sure hope they don’t blame us for electing Bush, we didn’t.
    But we sure didn’t raise enough of a stink about sloppy elections as we should have.


  15. Roket Says:

    “Many analysts said the election has created high expectations that the new president will be more in tune with the rest of the world.”

    After seven long years of being stuck on the AM dial, I’m ready for some FM.


  16. leftcoast Says:

    So I sure hope they don’t blame us for electing Bush, we didn’t.Comment by nellre — January 12, 2008 @ 3:19 pm

    The sad thing is that Americans did re-elect Bush. Whether rigged or by the grace of the Supreme Court, the rest of the world viewed us as idiots.


  17. Nat Says:

    The sad thing is that Americans did re-elect Bush. Whether rigged or by the grace of the Supreme Court, the rest of the world viewed us as idiots.
    Comment by leftcoast — January 12, 2008 @ 3:27 pm

    Only some of us.


  18. DenverOasis Says:

    nawww, people around the world don’t like Bush?

    I’m willing to bet he would disagree until the end of time… delusional bastard…


  19. MWG Says:

    Bad Eye, I bought my father that calendar for xmas…along with the SmushBush figure (see it at NorthernSun.com at: http://www.northernsun.com/n/s/search.html?id=SQjuiWPE

    He’s gotten more mileage/laughs out of those two gifts than all the shirts/sweaters he got from everyone else!

    The SmushBush that I bought for myself frequently finds himself facedown, with his head squashed under my huge electric typewriter (still trying to drag my office into the 21st century…it’s taking a loooooong time, btw)
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .


  20. moondancer Says:

    I remember how i used to think that Reagan was the worst president in history. He was addled, mean spirited, savagely hurt the common people, savaged the government and economy, and traitorously dealt with our enemies for profit.
    Well, all that is grade school compared to the nitwit-in-chief we have now. So the Mt Rushmore in hell of worst presidents ever will still have Reagan, Hoover, Coolidge, but the place of honor goes to our own coke-head mentally ill brat George Bush.



  21. Bad Eye Says:

    Comment by MWG — January 12, 2008 @ 3:45 pm

    Checked out the site…thanks. I rather like the Pesident Evil t-shirt.


  22. Bad Eye Says:

    Comment by moondancer — January 12, 2008 @ 3:47 pm

    Don’t forget the roll that the Republican-led Congress played in all this.

    Only an ass like Bush could be proud of a legacy that consists of launching a war only 10 months into his first term and then maintaining it throughout his time in office.


  23. Ms_Joanne Says:

    No one wants this president out of office more than about 75% of the US population. Let’s hope that the dopes that reside in this country do a better job of selecting the next president. I don’t give a crap about “wanting to have a beer” with him (or her). I care about them having at a minimum triple digit IQ, the ability to speak like at least a 5th grader, and not out to screw above mentioned 75% (whether a good number of those people have a clue or not).

    Screw this president, his evil vice lord and all the neo-con’s who got us into this. My only joy is holding out hope for trails at the Hague. The world court is the only thing that will give this bas+ard (and all his louses) everything he and they deserve.


  24. GL2814 Says:

    Worst president in United States history.

    That is Bush’s legacy. In fact, in whatever presidential library they build for this idiot, that should be in big, bold print on the wall when you first enter.

    The whiskey and cocaine gallery will be somewhere in the middle.

    The “Mission Accomplished” wing (complete with wax figure of Chimpy in full flight suit, helmet, and cod piece) will be after that, and the replica of Bush’s oval office bathroom will be complete with a Constitution-perforated roll of toilet paper.

    There will also be a sounds gallery where you can put on headphones and listen to the lowlights of Bush as an orator.

    The gift shop at the exit to the library will sell books on intelligent design, as well as large pretzels.


  25. Veritas Says:

    #1 That was before the druggie Rush tarnished his own reputation!

    As for the Bush Cabal, the rest of the world is saying in unison: Don’t let the door hit your on the arss on your way out, Dumbo!


  26. Veritas Says:

    Bush has achieved one all-time high however: Three quarters of his OWN people loathe him and can’t wait to see him wave “bye bye”.


  27. nwmuse Says:

    Well, apparently Bush is now saying troop reductions may slow or stop all-together..
    I think Mr. Bush has his own plans and he says to the press whatever he wants in any given moment. Absolutely no connection to the real story.


  28. wisedup Says:

    Need some help packing your bags of cash , mr prez?


  29. Nat Says:

    As for the Bush Cabal, the rest of the world is saying in unison: Don’t let the door hit your on the arss on your way out, Dumbo!
    Comment by Veritas — January 12, 2008 @ 4:20 pm

    But I want the door to hit him with as much force as possible.


  30. nwmuse Says:

    OT: NBC has changed their mind, changed their criteria, and UN-INVITED Dennis Kucinich from the Nevada Debate next week.


  31. Keith Says:

    Not only are everyone of the Democratic candidates speaking about “Change” in every other sentence, but the Republican candidates are nearly as much. No Repub candidate is mentioning Bush at all!


  32. stewarjt Says:

    Bush: US Should Have Acted on [bombed] Auschwitz

    Dinkledorf is not content with his contemporary bombing. Now he wants to go back in time and bomb even more!

    It is instructive that this is his immediate, emotional reaction to an immesurable human tragedy: The US should have bombed. That is how he makes decisions, emotionally without thinking it through, without processing it through the intellect.


  33. nellre Says:

    bye bye Bush
    bye bye lawlessness
    Hello sanity
    I think I’m gonna smile

    Bye bye, da Bush, goodby-ye.
    Bye bye, da Bush, goodby-ye.
    Bye bye, da Bush, goodby-ye.


  34. Doc Rock Says:

    We are the world!



  35. Helen Rainier Says:

    The only way Bush’s approval ratings might hit 45% is if the pollsters ask the following question:

    “Do you approve of Bush leaving office?”

    If they ask that question, in that form, I predict Bush’s approval rating will hit at least 95%.


  36. doro Says:

    Bush: US Should Have Acted on [bombed] Auschwitz

    Dinkledorf is not content with his contemporary bombing. Now he wants to go back in time and bomb even more!

    It is instructive that this is his immediate, emotional reaction to an immesurable human tragedy: The US should have bombed. That is how he makes decisions, emotionally without thinking it through, without processing it through the intellect.

    Comment by stewarjt — January 12, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

    stewarjt, you are right in a way. But in this instance bombing, the railway lines would have saved thousands of lives. I (I’m German) have always felt, that the Fascism had to be bombed out of people’s minds in Germany, the dark seed was so deeply planted there and only a devastating loss of the war could show them the unbelievably inhumane things they had to accept responsibility for. But bombing the rails to Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Mauthausen and the many more camps would have succeeded to interrupt the well oiled machinery of death, and in no way jeopardized overall military success. I am still grateful for the chance at democracy and prosperity my country has received from the Americans after WWII. But this, the failure to bomb the rails, I have not forgiven, neither the Americans, nor the British.

    So here, for once, like a stopped clock, your President is right. They should have bombed.

    The reason for these words, and why he said them may be an entirely different story. And here President Bush is his usual cynic self.

    And yes, I am glad it’s only 373 days.


  37. Marie Says:

    The applause will be “heard around the world.”


  38. Marie Says:

    #13 bad eye saw
    “a calendar that counted down Bush’s final days in office.”

    It must be like the one on my desk at the office.


  39. Marie Says:

    #20 moondancer,
    It’s hard to believe those who would canonize Reagan isn’t it?


  40. Clumberfeet Says:

    Bush always said he was a uniter,
    Not the the decider.
    Didn’t he?


  41. Shayne Says:

    I’d love to help Bush OUT. How did he get IN?


  42. Abodebldr Says:

    It can’t be overstated, how much this vile pair are despised. Here is an amazing article on the psychological make up of the losers. An extremely good read…..http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011008A.shtml


  43. GSD Says:

    George W. Bush is teh suckiest.

    -GSD


  44. kasinca Says:

    Chimpeachment would make the entire world rejoice.


  45. kasinca Says:

    I just hope we don’t over compromise our interests in an attempt to get along.

    Comment by CaptainMantastic — January 12, 2008 @ 5:57 pm

    As opposed to pissing off the world and thumbing our noses at the world while trying to run roughshod over fourth rate countries to steal their oil? Give me a break. Dubya is the worst thing to ever happen to this country.


  46. AngryOne Says:

    While George W. Bush may be a recovering drinker, he apparently has now developed a gambling problem. Just 10 days into 2008, the Bush White House has placed big bets on everything from a Middle East peace treaty to the prospects for a U.S. recession, even his own popularity and legacy. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against him - and us.

    For the details, see:
    “George W. Bush’s Gambling Problem.”


  47. Wayne Says:

    There will be a Big party in Nov, 2008, and an even bigger one in Jan, 2009, when Bush is finally kicked out the door.


  48. macd Says:

    may bush and cheney rot in hell. TRAITORS


  49. Arn Gunnutes Says:

    Well, apparently Bush is now saying troop reductions may slow or stop all-together..
    I think Mr. Bush has his own plans and he says to the press whatever he wants in any given moment. Absolutely no connection to the real story.

    Comment by nwmuse — January 12, 2008 @ 4:21 pm

    With Petraeus at his side, Bush said, “My attitude is, if he didn’t want to continue the drawdown, that’s fine with me, in order to make sure we succeed, see. I said to the general, ‘If you want to slow her down, fine. It’s up to you.’”

    Easy solution. New Democratic president FIRES

    General BETRAYUS.

    The problem is that Bush is now trying to form alliances to keep the troops there for YEARS.

    Robert Pearson, Ambassador to Turkey, told a Turkish audience ONE WEEK BEFORE the invasion in 2003 that he expected we would be

    there for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS.

    Bush and his WAR CRIMINALS have committed TREASON.


  50. Buckie Boy Says:

    I have been waiting 7 years so far, way too long to wait for this criminal to step down. He should have been Impeached years ago.

    Bush/Cheney
    Hague Trials ‘09

    Buck Fush


  51. katy Says:

    … excellent photo with this… perfect…

    except it needs to be BIGGER…


  52. dixie blood Says:

    Much of the enthusiasm, according to the Washington Post, is for the end of the Bush presidency

    YOU ARE GAWD DAMNED RIGHT ABOUT THAT!!!!!

    The WP sucks, but, like a stopped clock they are right once…when…?


  53. katy Says:

    … Bush has his own plans and he says to the press whatever he wants in any given moment. Absolutely no connection to the real story.
    Comment by nwmuse @ 4:21 pm

    sure there is… think “opposite”…

    (i could not let the “mr.” copy)


  54. Shayne Says:

    I hope the next President enjoys much more favorability than Bush; I just hope we don’t over compromise our interests in an attempt to get along.

    Comment by CaptainMantastic — January 12, 2008 @ 5:57 pm

    FOR THE RECORD, nobody here gives a shit what YOU hope for.


  55. katy Says:

    Don’t let the door hit your on the arss on your way out, Dumbo!
    Comment by Veritas — January 12, 2008 @ 4:20 pm

    But I want the door to hit him with as much force as possible.
    Comment by Nat — January 12, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

    i enjoy randi rhodes’ version:
    “don’t [or DO] let the door hit ya where the good lord spit ya”


  56. katy Says:

    spLit … split ya…


  57. theswan Says:

    been waitin for seven years


  58. Zooey Says:

    I can’t wait until the dipshit Chimperor is gone to Crawford forever.
    Or prison. I’ve always been too optimistic.

    I just want them gone, and I want my country back.


  59. willyloman Says:

    Take it Back in 2008!

    Nancy Pelosi is standing in the way of a full investigation into the crimes of the Bush/Cheney administration. She will not allow impeachment hearing to take place.

    Please sign the petition to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. It is Constitutional and can be done during session. In fact the rule was written for just such an occasion; the removal of a complicit Speaker to advance the impeachment of a rogue administration.

    http://www.petitiononline.com/everyman/petition.html


  60. Ditch Mitch KY Says:

    Blush will be gone on 1/20/09, but we must make sure that Sen. John McIraqWar does not take his place. Here’s the chant:

    If you like Bush and his War, vote for McCain.


  61. Duck Soup Says:

    We want change! We want change! Real change. We want to stop the Bush Clinton cycle. We want a President who is still connected to reality!

    Barack Obama is still connected to reality. He is not awash in Dick Cheney level money, like the $70 million government service cashout for the Clintons with their bonus half billion dollar “charity” that employed their key campaign officials and was funded by their campaign donors. He doesn’t take the lobbyist money. The 527 money. He takes money from American voters who support him in accordance with the law.

    Cash may be king but it shouldn’t make kings, at least not in this country if we have a say in it.

    http://www.rawstory.com/ news/ mochila/ Obama_promises_relief_to_homeowners_01112008.html

    Barack will fight for us. He will fight for women. He will fight for men. He will fight for ordinary Americans. He will fight for real change. Barack will not give up the fight for change and throw people under the bus like the Clintons in the early 90s threw gay Americans under the bus in abandoning the fight to stop our military from discriminating against them. Barack will not stop fighting to reform our sick and broken health care system, even if he screws up on the first try like Hillary Clinton did in the early 90s (with the predictable result that our system is worse than ever a dozen years later).

    Isn’t it ironic that the Clintons are running around claiming Barack is talking about false hope - maybe their hope had an element of falsity. Maybe the Clinton hope that they preached about in 1992 turned out to some extent to be false hope. Maybe it was false hope in not ending discrimination against gay people in the military, false hope in not fighting relentlessly to fix our broken health care system, false hope in failing to achieve all the really big goals they had aimed for, and false hope in, essentially, being another good “Republican” President (former Fed Chief Greenspan’s words, not mine). And I am not mentioning the other stuff we all know about. Maybe this false hope was a key part of the Clinton’s vast “experience” which they now claim makes Hillary so qualified. Maybe their “experience” in the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton cycle and their hope bashing are precisely NOT what America needs more of right now.

    Sorry to sound shrill, but these things are real, not just made up right wing propaganda like so much of what Fox runs today. These things need to be said in view of the Clinton’s kneecap comments accusing Obama of “false hopes” and trashing Dr. King’s legacy. Clinton said Dr. King doesn’t deserve most of the credit for what Dr. King obviously accomplished through, yes, you guessed it, REAL HOPE. False hope for some I guess, but not for others. Not for Dr. King. And not for Barack Obama.

    OBAMA ‘08!!! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can! We want change. Yes we can!


  62. kasinca Says:

    Tell your representatives and senators to stop funding this travesty and to impeach the thugs in this crime family. It is their duty and it is required by the constitution.


  63. 99Luf Balloons Says:

    I await, with EXTREME anticipation and hope, for someone to announce to me that Bush is dead. Be it tomorrow or 50 years from today, I will still say the same thing.
    “Free at last
    Free at last
    “Thank God almighty,
    we are free at last.”

    I pray for his RAPTURE every friggin day.

    Applogies to MLK


  64. 99Luf Balloons Says:

    Willyloman,
    It sounds wonderful, but it all hinges on:
    “Pelosi will be replaced with someone who will bring the Articles of Impeachment to the floor of the House of Representatives Immediately! ”

    How can we be sure that this will happen?


  65. familyman Says:

    “…high expectations that the new president will be more in tune with the rest of the world.”

    Then they better hope a Democrat gets elected, because the Republican candidates (with the exception of Paul) are falling over themselves saying how they will continue the current administration’s foreign policies.


  66. Sue Cauler Says:

    I knew there would be a National Party on January 20, 2009 however I didn’t know that this would be a Worldwide Event.

    Cool.

    Here’s the plan, a live chat where everyone everywhere can celebrate together. More details as we near the End of an Error.

    http://www.fedupamerican07.blogspot.com


  67. sacopenapa Says:

    WE ARE WAITING FOR HIS DEPARTURE AND HOPING FOR HIS INDICTMENT, HIS IMPRISIONING AND EXECUTION FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES. FOR CHENNEY AND THE REST OF THIS CRIMINAL ADMINISTRATION, WE ARE EXPECTING THE SAME, BUT THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING…


  68. Willy Says:

    Question: Why does George Bush have four holes in his forehead?

    Answer: He’s learning how to use a fork.

    Dumbest president ever!


  69. FatherJon Says:

    But unfortunately, not before he causes even more problems for the US and the world. Would that we could mitigate them but alas, even the Democrats are playing into his hands.


  70. MWG Says:

    Even my penpal from the Netherlands and everyone he knows there are anxious to get shrub out of office here in the US.
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .


  71. Carlos Says:

    Your choice of photo is perfect.

    Someone PLEASE help him with the door! He’s got to GO!!!!!!


  72. AmandaBlow Says:

    hell yeah! I want this idiot tried, jailed, and executed !! Have him walk out with his report card : he got all F’s. All the money he’s made profiteering and robbing the American people, while our young die in a failed war, is stored in a bank account in Switzerland, in euros that is of course! Traitor freak! I want Bush dead!


  73. Cal Malenky Says:

    And yet, he thinks that his world travels this year will produce positive results and prop up his legacy. None of the world leaders take him seriously anymore. He’s in his last year, wildly unpopular at home and abroad, his Texas Mafia mostly dispersed and his party in the minority.
    Meanwhile the security bubble that travels with him is highly disruptive to the daily lives of the citizens of the countries he visits.
    He’s doing his last lap of free taxpayer-supported travel before settling down at the “ranch” and visiting his “fantastic freedom institute” in between the lucrative speaking gigs.


  74. sgs23 Says:

    Well, the moron did campaign as a uniter, I’m just not sure this is what he had in mind. Perhaps we can make the day he leaves office a holiday, the first international holiday.


  75. bogtrotters Says:

    Maybe the dollar will rebound come Inauguration Day, too…


  76. DieNowForPeace Says:

    Whenever Shrub’s in DC, “Somewhere in Texas, a village is missing it’s idiot.”


  77. Raynard Says:

    Camera poised at the door of the backs of Laura and Geogre getting the boot (physically) by the new resident of the White House just as the exterminators arrive via the same entrance. Tell me how do “we the people” permit this idiot to get into office (by negating the “hanging chad”)
    c’mon now that hanging chad was right next to the hole (the only hole punched out) robbing Al Gore of the election. There should have been rioting in all city streets. We the People should have been so upset that anarchy should have prevailed. Bush should have rotten fruit tossed in his direction on the upcoming “Dumbest president in history lecture tour”.

    Raynard



Jump to Top

About Think Progress | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy (off-site) | RSS | Donate
© 2005-2008 Center for American Progress Action Fund
View Most Popular

Advertisement


Visit Our Affiliated Sites

image image image
What We're About

Featured

image
Subscribe to the Progress Report




Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.

Name:
Email:
Tip:
(required)



Reports

imageTopic Cloud


imageArchives


imageBlog Roll