And with all due respect here, sir: All this—for what? To prove that a Congressman’s kid got special treatment in the National Guard? Hell, that’s not criminal. It’s practically the American Way. Look at the news business, publishing, movies, union jobs in Detroit—even most of our recent Presidential candidates. There’s always been nepotism, privilege and somebody pulling strings for somebody else’s kid. No, it’s not right. And it’s certainly not fair. And surely we’d all be better off if you’d used CBS’s resources to focus on some of Mr. Bush’s present-day sins—like the way we’ve just lost control over huge swaths of Iraq.

But as your former colleague Walter Cronkite used to sign off at the end of his broadcast every night: "That’s the way it is."

The gal-pal and I just spent a week enjoying the splendors of Belgium (Brussels and Brugge) and The Netherlands (Amsterdam and The Hague). Visited old friends (and made new ones), attended a concert and did much sightseeing. I hosted a film program and had a few casual business meetings. We strolled narrow streets, browsed in open-air markets and boutiques, lolled in cafes, restaurants and quaint bistros. We even spent a giggly hour in an Amsterdam "coffee shop."

I mention this activity because not once in the course of seven days in those two countries did I hear the word "Bush" uttered in a disgusted way (even among artists and musicians), nor did I detect any overt anti-American sentiment. Not even provocative graffiti or in-your-face sloganeering T-shirts. In fact, the only visible references to Bush were in headlines on newsstands. Wherever we went, the locals seemed delighted to accept the patronage and conversation of American tourists. Without exception, they were polite, accommodating and pleasantly talkative.

Considering the reading and rumors about Europe I've absorbed in the past year, I expected to encounter more blatant outrage and visible evidence of anti-US resentment, particularly in a hipster enclave like Amsterdam. But no one sneered. Perhaps I'm just oblivious. (In my travels across international borders over the past year or so, the most overt US disdain I've encountered was in Montreal.)

Of course, my experiences in those two countries were necessarily limited. But I confess to being pleasantly surprised by what I didn't find.

Actually, should we be shocked? After all, exports have reached all-time highs this year. If we were so hated across the globe, wouldn't people stop buying our products? How come there haven't been any high publicity boycotts of American goods by all the countries who supposedly despise our nation? Or, how come there haven't been any embargoes, like what we saw in the 70's? If we're so hated, shouldn't there be SOME real, verifiable outcry against Americans or our products, or should we just take the media's word for it that this anti-American sympathy is rampant throughout the world?

It is an old characteristic of European anti-americanism that the posturing will not get in the way of burgers, Coke, Dockers khakis and Gap t-shirts for the kids. McDonald's is growing fastest in France, after all. Hence the howl of protests there; the self-appointed guardians of taste wouldn't be complaining if it wasn't so wildly successful. Moreover, all those American products are generatelly produced locally, sometimes with a local flavor. Aside from the loony fringe, most of the locals and their politicians know full well that boycott would be self-defeating, putting tens of thousands of their fellow citizens in the unemployment line. And these subsidiaries are the ones who import a lot of stuff from the US. Then there are all these tiny, costly, valuable parts like Intel or AMD CPUs; Hollywood movies, which are always mobbed.

But people still hate Bush, and many hold beliefs about the U.S. that are beyond stereotypes. Politics and public demonstrations is where the venom comes out. Overall, the scope of its expression is limited but highly concentrated.

Which is why the first reader probably didn't see much. How many families did he stay with ? How many political discussions did he have with the locals ? Did he stay in hotels or rent an apartment in the suburbs ? Was he able to read the articles below those headlines ? How many talk shows did he listen to ? Did he understand the language ? Did he walk around with a Bush-Cheney 2004 t-shirt ? (Now that would be an interesting experiment).

Of course you can go around without being assaulted for a week. Of course the louder expressions of those sentiment are limited to a few. It doesn't mean it's not there, anymore than racism doesn't exist because so few act on it. And just like racists are always able to make an exception for the black man they are having a nice chat with, those Europeans with scathing anti-US views are comfortable excluding the present company from their judgment.

But while good old racism seems more common at the bottom of the social ladder, European anti-americanism - the obsessive kind - tends to be a brain disease of the chattering classes. And it does sell, as Michael Moore could tell you. And that particular product is a US export, too.

Thanks to reader Jill Olson for the link, via LGF.

Posted by Donald L. Luskin at 12:50 AM | link    

Monday, September 20, 2004

Posted by Donald L. Luskin at 10:23 PM | link    

Posted by Donald L. Luskin at 10:20 PM | link