The front page of yesterday's International Herald Tribune blared the findings of a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. The headline says just about all you need to know about the poll, and the people surveyed.
"Distrust of U.S. Gets Deeper But Not Wider -- The global image of America is mixed bag, poll shows". Hmmm. Seems we're viewed unfavorably today in the Arab world. Shocking, I know.
To me, this all smacks of the old Mark Twain comment about statistics. In marketing, of course, we know all about statistics, right? Especially how you get certain answers to the way you ask certain questions. In this case, Pew's queries about how people in other countries view "American Democracy" prompted many among our European allies and countries in the Muslim world to express their disfavor. But does this really amount to a referendum on "American Democracy" or is it yet another chance to bash the Pinata spelled I-R-A-Q? Interesting side note: people in sub-Saharan Africa, and in former Eastern Bloc countries are pretty high on America -- Democracy warts and all. Funny. These are the places in the world who know tyranny first hand, BTW. What a coincidence.
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