A momentary encounter
Arrived back from chilly Kansas in time to shake hands with the president and the first lady at the annual holiday party.
What does one do on these occasions?
We are not close, Mr Bush and I, because as you know he is busy and when he does give interviews they tend, understandably, to be with American networks.
And yet there are a million things I would like to ask him: after all I write about him a lot. In the end the moment comes (it really is a moment) and I play safe: we talk about a mutual friend and our encounter is done.
Sadly, my friend Tim Reid, who writes for the was not there. I wonder if that has anything to do with the following misunderstanding.
At a previous Christmas party, Tim was introduced to Mr Bush as "Tim Reid from the Times". Unfortunately, the president had recently been interviewed by one of Tim's colleagues, not by Tim, but hearing the words "The Times" Mr Bush said, not unreasonably, "Hey Tim - didn't we meet just a few days ago?"
As Tim describes it, the terrible curse of English good manners kicked in and he felt unable to contradict the commander-in-chief. Instead he heard himself mutter, "Umm, well, yes Mr President we might have met..."
"Might have met!" Mr Bush looked surprised, and turning to Tim's wife, raised an eyebrow and said, "You'd have thought he'd have remembered!"
America's 43rd president has suffered all manner of indignities in recent years; but surely none so searing...
Hello, I'm 
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Whi is it that a non-american network news organisation is not allowed access to the President. Since the President and his words are given access to many around the world, why can he not answer them directly, especially regarding his policies that affect them persoanlly?
Is it becasue these "other" news networks will not follow the Govt.s "news handouts" repeating almost verbatim and instead ask questions the President/Gov.t prefer not to answer?
Sadly I too have fallen foul of such behaviour when meeting superiors or somone in high "standing". Defaulting to accept their account rather than the real and true, which I wanted to ask or question.
Is this subtle diplomacy or just stupidity???
"What does one do on these occasions?"
"There are a million things I would like to ask him."
"The terrible curse of English good manners."
"America's 43rd President has suffered all manner of indignities in recent years; but surely none so searing."
In case you have forgotten Mr. Webb or just never read about it, your colleague, the chief political editor of 大象传媒 Nick Robinson had the rare opportunity to ask the President of the United States a question at a press conference in the last year or so, and how did he use this rare opportunity? Did he ask a question which would gain new insight into the events of the day? Did he let us in on some of the President's thought processes and how he evaluated facts presented to him to make his decisions? No, instead he made a little speech which was a sarcastic ad hominem personal attack on the President asking him if he even knew what was going on in Baghdad or Iraq. British manners hardly. British boorishness yes, a soccer hooligan in a suit with a press pass. A buffoon and an embarrassment to his employer and his nation, an absolute disgrace. We expect nonsense like this from ignorant South American peasants like Hugo Chavez but hardly from a well educated experienced journalist from 大象传媒. Of course this was not Robinson's only boorish experience revealed in the public domain. On his own blog site, he described how one day in a bar in London, a drunk threw a plate of curried chips at him for not having brought the troops home from Iraq yet. Now how do you suppose this drunk even knew who Nick Robinson was? While he may be a familiar face around Bush House, I'm sure the average Brit couldn't pick him out of a lineup from a bag of sour apples. Must have been more than a little braggadocio after the third or fourth round of drinks.
Robinson's example is hardly unique. Take the case of the Socialist MP George Galloway who testified before a Congressional committee. His rude boorishness was to American ears jawdropping, stunning. Suspected of having received oil credits from Saddam Hussein's government to influence British foreign policy in regard to Iraq, he was as disrespectful as he could possibly be. I've seen convicted hired killers in congressional investigations of the Mafia show more dignity. We don't have kings, queens, dukes, or earls here as you know, we respect the elected officials, if not for their views and actions then for the office they hold which goes beyond the person elected to it. America is not Britain and an American Presidential press conference and a Congressional hearing is not Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons where it is customary for Britain's elected officials to bray like a pack of fools and jackasses. Sorry to disillusion you Mr. Webb but the pretense of British civility becomes all too transparent in the age of information. BTW, I am certain that the President of the United States of America has more information about what is happening in Baghdad and Iraq gathered, sifted, analyzed, summarized, and presented to him in a day or a few days than 大象传媒 can gather and process in a year.
Please resign.
At this time of the year we all should wish the President and his wife a great christmas and a happy new year. And many thanks for the effort you have put out doing what can only be termed one of the toughest jobs in the world.
By the way I'm not a US citizen, just one of those Canadians that consider you as good neighbors.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Merry Christmas Mr. President. Remember all those who will not be back for Christmas because of you.
I've been kicked-in by "the terrible curse of English good manners" many times.
I don't know who you guys think is so exclusively privy to your 'subleties' (I think that's the word for we 'good-mannered' types).
That interviews tend to be with American networks is even more understandable on this side of the pond.
Think you could try a little good-will instead of all the artifice & mannerisms?
I would have asked him why, in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary he has the arrogence to continue this futile war in Iraq and for which about as many Americans have died as died at 9/11 - at his persistance. I don't see any of the Bush clan volunteering.
I would ask him why he celebrates Christmas since he has been upfront that he and Laura have celebrated Ramadan for the past 7 years.
Yeah, Bush has a lot of class, doesn't he?
I would say nothing because I would not attend, if invited.
This President does not tell the truth and has brought about death and permanent disability to thousands of people on all sides of the Iraq war/occupation. How can he have the audacity to have a gala in the White House while refugees have been streaming out of Iraq for over four years? We should be a nation in mourning. . . .for the negligence of Katrina, the loss of our democracy with the Patriot Act and the Pre-emptory Strike Resolution, and our loss of world respect. Our rresources are spent on the war machine and our citizen's health and education is ignored along with this great nation's infrastructure and the lost integrity of the dollar.
I have no respect for this President's agenda and along with my regrets I would send a letter to the editor of the Washington Post explaining my reasons for not attending.
I'm a small-town American reporter. Well, this wasn't exactly an interview, and I know journalists are supposed to maintain a professional demeanor on the job, but oh, the things I would ask Bush!!! I don't know if he'd respond, but I'll be damned if I didn't ask!!
Anyway, I understand why Webb chose the safe route, but I don't agree with it. How many other times has Webb had Bush mano a mano?
With due respect to the high office of the President, one cannot help comparing the present incumbent with the truly great Presidents of the past. One expects the President to be exceptionally sharp with very few flaws. However George Bush in his final year in office comes across as a President with far too many human flaws who is still grappling with ways of not slipping on a banana skin.That makes him look weak and ineffective. Perhaps he could still learn from his father. He is evidently not a chip of the old block. A year is a long time in politics: he could still do something great!
My Comment for George Walker Bush
You belong in The Hague
This just goes to show that our president can be very down to earth at times.
For the President at Christmas: Since you have violated your oath and committed several felonies, why do you not resign? [A nice summary of the revelations of the last couple of months.]
What would I say to Mr Bush at his party? Well, this is what you can do on the Twelve Days of Christmas, Mr President:
1) Pull out of Iraq
2) Pull out of Afghanistan
3) Sign the protocol to protect the earth against global warming
4) Close Guantanamo
5) Sign up to the World Court of Justice
6) Remove your military bases from Britain
7) Scrap the plan to build a so-called missile "shield" around Russia
8) Put Scooter Libby back in jail
9) Araign Donald Rumsfeld for War Crimes
10) Compel your Embassy in London to adhere to Congestion Charge rules like everyone else
11) Remove John Bolton from all public office for life
12) Resign.
Re presidential interviews to non US channels...There was a lot of fuss in Ireland when GWB was interviewed by Carole Coleman of RTE. It seemed that the white house was less than impressed that someone actually had the temerity to ask real questions. They even lodged a complaint with the Irish Embassy. Apparently GWB would have prefered to discuss the outfit worn by Irelands PM to a G8 summit than Iraq! However when I saw the interview although it was far harder than anything FOX News would do it was still a walk in the park compared to the grilling Irish and UK politicians are regulary given. Pehaps GWB just perfers to take it easy.
In my view the President of the United States of America has the worst job in the world. Not only does he have to do his best for his own Party but for the U.S.A. as a whole. Not to mention the rest of the world where what America does and does not do is very important for all of us. The media is waiting to tear him to pieces, blaming him for everything that goes wrong - anywhere and he gets were little credit when things go well.
Actually. against this background, G.W. Bush has done a pretty good job on the whole - Happy Cristmas Mr President and enjoy your last year in the White House.
To some of the American posters here (Mark, Marcus) - stop being so chippy! Not everything Justin Webb says on his blog is a sly dig at America, so give him a break.
I don't think JW was bragging about 'English good manners'. Hence him calling it a curse. Perhaps 'English awkwardness' would have been a better way of putting it. Whatever, it was just a harmless anecdote.
I think it would be interesting to hear from Justin, and the posters here, about America's new-found sensitivity to criticism. Why are a fair few citizens of the wealthiest, most secure, and most powerful country on earth either prone to imagining slights that aren't there (as above), or unable to take legitimate criticism on the chin (e.g. French objection to the Iraq war)? Is there deep-seated unease about America today and what she represents? Do they feel insecure about America's pre-eminence, worrying that it may not last?
What's going on?
Please do us all a favour and resign. Use the leisure time at your disposal to get yourself a bit of education. Brush up your literacy skills and ask your librarian wife to obtain suitable reading material for you.
What a load of churls above Justin! I laughed out loud at your story. Happy Christmas to you and your family!
In response to Marcus' post I agree that we British are not as subtle as we like to think.
This is the result of living in a country where we question what we are told and do not consider that just because somebody is in a position of power that they are always right.
George Bush is a puppet in a US dictatorship that is trying to enforce its culture and belief system on people who do not want it.
If you really are the land of the free, as your anthemn suggests, then I suggest that you use freedom of thought as a starting point.
Was 9/11 allowed to happen on purpose to gain control of the distribution of oil in Central Asia?
How did WTC7 collapse if it wasn't hit by a plane?
We British are not as polite and subtle as we like to think. That is because we live in a country where we are encouraged to question what we see and hear.
I have questioned the actions of Mr Bush (and Blair previously) for a long time now and my conclusion is that he is a puppet in a regime that wishes to enforce its culture and belief system on those who do not want it. This is better known as a dictatorship.
I have a very good friend who is a US Citizen who said "I believe in our President because he must have worked hard to get where he is and I guess he knows what he's doing better than I do."
I on the other hand propose that Mr Bush does not know what he's doing.
If the United States really is the land of the free as it says in your national anthemn then may I suggest that the US Citizenship exercise their right to freedom of thought and really question the impact of their government on the world in which we all live.
What would I say to Mr. Bush this Christmas? I'd say, Mr. Bush, you stole the US presidency, you did not get a majority of citizens' votes, you do not belong in the Oval Office, I do not recognize you as president. Please have the grace and decency to leave an usurped office. Further, you have made America into the world's laughing stock; you have made a mockery of Freedom, Democracy, Law, our Constituion and Bill of Rights, the nation's honor and self-image and our sense of decency and fair-play. You have disgraced the nation and its institutions as well as yourself and your ancestors. Please cut yours and our loses and have the decency to remove yourself from the White House.
That's what I'd want to say to our Mr. Bush. Given the opportunity. But no doubt his guard dogs wouldn't allow such outlandish address! Nor, most likely, would he understand much of it. But, no, whatever else I'd do, I could not and would not feed the man's ego or self-deluded arrogance, even at the risk of being politically or socially incorrent.
.
What a wonderful Halloween costume you are wearing Mr President
In a separate Email to the White House, yesterday, I wished Bush's family a Merry Christmas while bemoaning the fact that he's failed to wish the 85% Christian majority in this country a Merry or Happy Christmas. Nowhere in the White House' supposed Christmas message can I find "Merry Christmas Bill and Mary".
There is however, a Christmas message for the Park Service and a Channukah message for our Jewish cousins, the whole 2% of 'em. Presumably this latter was to avoid the wrath of AIPAC.
Justin! You need to display a little more temerity.
To Mark @ 2:
Go ahead and characterise Nick Robinson (and even George Galloway, for that matter) as rude and boorish, but don't forget that the English establishment of the time probably regarded the Declaration of Independence as a somewhat rude and boorish document! Birthplace aside, Nick and George may be more American than you'd like to admit.
Civility matters for sure - but when we're dealing with people's lives, I think inappropriately genteel manners and an fawning atitude to power can be misread as approval. If our elected leaders can't handle a little pointed questioning then why, for heaven's sake, did we give them the job of running our country?
In response to Bryn Harris, the so-called new found sensitivity has nothing to do with your self-serving question about our "insecurity of America's preeminence". It has more to do with: 1) the ridiculous habit non-Americans have of blaming the U.S. for absolutely everything that goes wrong in the world; 2) ignorant comments about the U.S. from people who have never been to and/or only have a very rudimentary grasp of American history or society (such as comparing it to Nazi Germany) that are posted in responses to any Justin Webb blog or Have Your Say topic; 3) the hypocracy of Europeans and the British in particular of complaining about alleged American imperialism or rights abuses.
Poor Tim. But I'm sure President Bush now thinks Tim is Britain's most important journalist. After all, if he doesn't remember meeting the President of The United States it can only be because he's interviewing the elite every day.
I love the way Mark compares Nick Robinson to a "soccer" hooligan though.
Nick Robinson was holding your president to account - something the American media all to often fail to do.
And despite what you say Mark, Nick Robinson is probably one of the most recognisable journalists in Britain so I'm pretty certain the average Brit could pick him out of any line. In fact, he's probably more well known than most politicians here.
Your latter point speaks volumes about the problem with American politics. Too many Americans assume that because someone is in high office the public should blindly assume that that person's words are gospel. It is this lack of scrutiny that prevents progress in your great country. It is the reason America has failed to acknowledge the catastrophe being caused by climate change. It is the reason why America still employs the barbarism of the death penalty. It is the reason why America still promotes vigilante justice with bounty hunting. It is the reason why America has a second rate health care system. It is the reason why people are being left behind in New Orleans. And it is the reason why Fox News exists.
Thankfully, it now appears that the tide is turning. The American people have had a gutfull. They have been duped long enough and more and more of them are making their voices heard.
No doubt I'll get accused of "anti-Americanism" for writing this. After all, it is wrong to criticise America. You're either with America or against her.
But the fact is, I love America. I resent anti-americanism and am not being paronising when I say all this. I have been to America and know they are among the most friendly people in the world. They are also among the most intelligent. You don't become the world's sole superpower through being stupid.
But even with the power and influence they have now, imagine how much more advanced America would be if only the politicians were scrutinised more. This is not a disingenuous or insignificant point. Justin Webb knows the power of the media and as a journalist living in America must know the extent to which American politicians, particularly the president, are blindly adhered too, whatever the consequences.
This attitude helps people on the far-right to breed their ignorant opinions and stall the progress of humanity. It also promotes extremism on the far-left with people in the centre being seen as either at one end or the other.
I've no doubt that President Bush truly believes that his actions are for the greater good of the world. But the fact is he is a fundemental who is fundementally wrong. His opinions stem from deep-rooted ignorance.
Americans need to understand that a part of patriotism is ensuring that those people in high office are held to account for their actions. Not doing so impairs the progress of humanity as those in office become narcistically drunk on power.
I have high hopes for America in 2008. I think America has learnt the lessons of the past. I think Americans now appreciate the dangers of ignorance. Indeed, Maybe Bush's greatest legacy is a wake-up call to change.
I would not be caught dead at this White House. I am very particular about the people with whom I associate.
They do not have to be great or well-known but a minimum amount of integrity is required.
My questions will be,Mr president is it not favourable to talk to those you consider to be your enemies? What do you make of the situation in Somalia and Darfur? What do you say about the comments made by Al Gore on climate change summit in Bali,Indonsia? Mr Bolton麓s latest book,which he says, to surrender is not an option? How are you going to persuade Russia over the Independence of Kosovo Albenians? Finally,Israel is continuing to build illegal settlements in Jerusalem where the Palestinenians want to see as their capital just after the annapolice talks and the heavy handedness of the Israli Military against the Islamic militants in Gaza.Are you optimistic there will be a two state solution at all?What about the big scandal made by the CIA in mordern history on the technics used to interrogate detainees inorder to save the lives miilions of American both at home and aboard?Is it jusitifiable of such methods-I mean water-boarding(drownning)?
Do you feel regret on the scandal made by the CIA?
To be honest, I think I would be honoured to meet the President of the United States, even to get into the White House. Whatever I think of him, he is still a leader of a nation, and just like our PM, I may not like Brown, but I'd still like to meet him!
To the, I presume, American who made the 2nd comment, please get a grip! We British do not shy away from the hard question's, and I personally think it's great fun watching our politician's argue with one another. You get to see what their made of!
I would say to the President as a serving officer in the Army:
Thank you! Excellent job and keep up the good work!
President Bush does what is right for the country and the world, history will be his judge, not the contemporary world.
RS (ex-pat Brit and American Citizen) #28
"To Mark @ 2:
Go ahead and characterise Nick Robinson (and even George Galloway, for that matter) as rude and boorish, but don't forget that the English establishment of the time probably regarded the Declaration of Independence as a somewhat rude and boorish document! Birthplace aside, Nick and George may be more American than you'd like to admit."
Rude? Among other things, it told Europe with all of its Kings and Queens and royalties, and aristocracies, and classes, and hatreds to go to hell, Americans didn't need them, want them, or any of its miserable ideas. 231 years later the message is still the same. Europe, America doesn't care what you think, say, or do. American civilization started from nothing and ran past Europe and everyone else like they were standing still. What could losers possibly teach winners except to serve as an example of what not to do?
Like it or not, Nick Robinson and George Galloway are quintessentially British, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Transplants from other countries will never really grasp what America is about, those born here will understand it instinctively. Justin Webb will learn that from his youngest son, he will not be even slightly British and will be different from his older siblings, the greater the difference in age, the greater the difference in their outlook on life and the world.
Frankly, I'm not talking about genteel manners, I'm talking about personal dignity and the dignity of someone others have entrusted to rule over them which matters a great deal in a true democracy which Britain surely is NOT. MPs at PMQT are braying jackasses, there is no more appropriate way to describe them.
Justin #30
It is not Nick Robinson's place to hold President Bush to account. Nick Robinson is a guest in a foreign country and a private citizen given a rare privilege. America is not an extension of Britain. He abused it and in so doing made it clear that this privilege should not be extended to him again. President Bush is held to account only by American voters and their representatives in Congress. They passed judgment on his performance in 2004 when they re-elected him. Should he abuse his powers egregiously in violation of American law, the Constitution provides a mechanism for his removal. Despite sensational headlines in the press, there is no serious call among American citizens for impeachment. Reading the bulk of your diatribe, I don't think you understood one thing I said or anything about America.
Phil Smith #35
Thank your for your service to our country. You are also doing the right thing.
I would tell the President that he is doing a great job and that I am still very proud of our country.
He is one of the few people I could say that to and it would not be met with a dropped jaw.
I think that Americans are pretty sensitive right now (I'm referring to comment #19). It's difficult for anyone to hear that they are hated/disliked by other people, let alone entire countries. I think it's only human for us to be affected. Americans are becoming disillusioned by all the things popping up in the news concerning our government (things we didn't even know was going on). It's kind of like waking up to find that your house is on fire.
I think it's unfair to ask anyone to love America, or even to like America. We have the best and the worst of everything, meaning we have some of the kindest people living here and some of the most selfish people living here. I'm sure you've watched shows and movies and thought to yourself, "Oh dear, America has problems." That would be the truth, because we DO have problems. America has faults. But sometimes I feel like America is the only country that is not allowed to be imperfect, and I don't know why that is. At the same time, I don't think that people should be so quick to label America as being completely bad and corrupt. Can't you leave a little bit of room for recovery, change, the chance to do things right? When someone you know starts making poor choices, don't you try to help them get back on the right track? Anyhow, not ALL Americans are contributing to the problems we now face, or the problems that the world faces because of us. To put all Americans in the category of "troublemakers" or "selfish pigs" is unfair. Like I said before, we are not all perfect, but we are not all evil either.
BTW, I think foreigners should know that the American people are pretty sensitive right now, and it doesn't have anything to do with us being sad about "losing our status" in the world. I, for one, have never believed that America is the "greatest" country in the world. There are so many great countries in Europe and around the world. To say that America is the best would be extremely, well, false. I know this post is probably all over the place, but my main point in writing is to say that 1) America isn't perfect, 2) The American people are going through a tough time right now, and 3) Please treat us with the same sensitivity you would like your own country and your own people to be treated. Criticism can help and it can also harm. I think there's a balance that we all have to find.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
To those who think that we don't question our leaders because we asume that since they are in a position of power, they must be right!:I agree, we do not question our legislators/leaders nearly as much as we should, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e sheep either! Also, you should know that there are several factors which go into why we haven鈥檛 been quite so on the ball with our questioning as, in my opinion, we should be. First 9/11: it julted a lot of people鈥檚 minds, understandably, for a while. And I would be interested to know how, if the same scale attack were to happen to another country, they would deal with it, since, as is apparent from several posts, many people think Afghanistan was wrong, and therefore begs the conclusion that we were wrong in our grappling with things from the gitgo, even before Iraq was thought of. But second, and I think this is the largest contributor to our slacking, the administrations has played off those fears to the point where if one questions them too much, or too harshly, they run the risk of being 鈥渟oft on terror鈥 or, god forbid, even worse 鈥渦npatriotic!鈥. They have operated on fear and guilt especially since Iraq. But I honestly believe that they really don鈥檛 even believe the labels they give people/journalists anyway, rather it is just a way for them to continue getting what they want, without causing controversy or, outside of a legal framework鈥ike that worked anyway鈥(torture and denial) But it鈥檚 the combination of these two things; a desire to be thought of as 鈥渨ith the US in fighting the 鈥渨ar on terror鈥濃 and the fear of the labels which will be applied, and the ostrisation which might take place should one find themselves on the, according to the administration, 鈥渨rong side鈥, that have suppressed people from questioning their leaders the way, I believe, they should.
I think its wrong of you to think, that first, no one questions the administration, and second, that the reason we may not, at times, is because it is somehow in our country鈥檚 genetic make-up. It most certainly is not! Also, the way in which leaders in the us and uk are questioned are somewhat different, as one might expect in different countries. So just because we may not have a 鈥淨uestion time鈥 session each week, doesn鈥檛 mean that it isn鈥檛 going on. Although I must say, I do love how you do question your leaders! Its almost comical鈥ts like a high school pep rally! What I wouldn鈥檛 give for congress to have that ability for just one day鈥eed would have a ball!!
Firstly, I feel for the Tim guy. While we would all like to say that we would have responded with "You actually interviewed on of my colleagues" we would all probably take Tim's polite route.
Personally, I would love say that I told off Bush in regards to the atrocious Immigration Bill mess. However, in reality, I probably would have said something polite like the freaked out girl I am(Jame = nickname).
I also give "Mr. Tim" props for not getting annoyed with the mistaken identity.
To Tim # 29. Blaming the US for everything that goes wrong in the world certainly is ridiculous. But something has gone very wrong in, e.g., Iraq, and the US and the UK certainly are responsible (or irresponsible, as the case may be). Criticism on this score cannot be called illegitimate or ridiculous. It won鈥檛 do to point at the thoughtless criticism (e.g. Bush & co. are comparable to the Nazis) and say that this therefore invalidates *all* criticism of the current administration. Finally, British attacks on US so-called neo-colonialism are certainly hypocritical when delivered by apologists for the British empire. But many British people regret the empire as a greedy and destructive institution. And they regret what Bush is doing in Iraq for much the same reason. To return to the Nazis 鈥 do we regard current German concerns about the rise of hard-right politics in Europe as hypocritical? Or do we accept that their historical experience and the lessons hard learned from it in fact give greater weight to their concerns? Ditto European concerns about American plans for 鈥榓 greater middle East鈥.
Your objections only prove my point 鈥 rather than answer criticism and face up to it you seek to dismiss it wholesale as invalid. This does not suggest a confident mindset. I know America fairly well, I think, and am lucky enough to have one of its citizens as my partner. As always when I try to understand your country (and this is something that makes America so fascinating), I come across a paradox: those who say that America doesn鈥檛 need to listen to the UN, the Europeans and other namby-pambies, but should do whatever it wants, are often the same people who go out of their way to be offended by the above blog entry, and take a reference to 鈥榯he curse of English good manners鈥 as a snide insinuation against American manners.
I stand by what I wrote: first, that this is clearly not fair to the writer of this blog and his intentions; second, that it implies that something very curious and very interesting is going on in the American psyche right now.
Phil, #35: I reckon Bush & his supporters would be wise to embrace Fox News as his judge rather than history. I'm willing to bet a large sum of money he will be remembered as the President who let the lunatics take over the asylum.
One way to tell whether you understand America is by your references to Fox.
To outsiders it's a propaganda channel seeking to brainwash all the gullible Americans. To Americans, it's just another cable channel that provides another viewpoint.
And you say Americans are gullible!
It would be really simple for me, Justin. I would not be invited LOL!
*To outsiders it's a propaganda channel seeking to brainwash all the gullible Americans. To Americans, it's just another cable channel that provides another viewpoint.*
Oh, wait. Let me pick myself up off the floor from laughing.
Let's correct this regrettable assertion listed in #42 by saying:
To SOME Americans (like perhaps Andrea), Fox is just another cable channel that provides another viewpoint. But to many Americans (and most likely to foreigners aware of it), Fox is a propaganda channel seeking to brainwash gullible Americans.
There. That's a lot more accurate.
Laura #38
"I think that Americans are pretty sensitive right now"
Actually, I think some Americans like me are tired of hearing a constant barrage of America bashing from Europeans go unanswered because many Americans don't know the history of Europe, the history of their own country, or are just too polite to respond. I think its more than high time the Europeans received a large dose of their own medicine, especially when their own culpability of crimes against humanity throughout history when taken as a whole is far greater than America's. They can dish it out but they don't seem to be able to take it, all the more reason to dish it out in spades. And at least we Americans learn from our mistakes, the Europeans never seem to learn. The only conclusion I can come to about them is that many of them are just pigheaded and stupid. I don't mind pointing that out when it's appropriate either.
Mary #39
I think you should tune into C-Span and C-Span II more often. We question everything. That is not the same as an endless litany of attacks which in the end as in PMQT amount to nothing. It would be impossible to have anything like PMQT here in the US. Not only is it unacceptable to challenge the dignity of anyone including our elected officials the way the British do, it would not be acceptable to challenge the dignity of their office. This is because unlike the British who hold their Royal Family in the highest esteem, we don't have such institutions, our most valued people are those we voluntarily entrust our lives to by electing them. The proof? Try to imagine a group of reporters or MPs addressing the Queen the way the MPs of "the party opposite" address the Prime Minister. It would be unthinkable. You aren't even allowed to turn your back on her. You can't even address Price "jug-ears" that way.
Aqua #44
To some people, me for instance, 大象传媒 is a hostile alien presence in the United States. I do not know of any foreign news organization based in one country that has such a large and growing presence in another. Clearly the views of 大象传媒 are far from those of mainstream Americans no matter which part of the political spectrum they are in. What I resent is having to subsidize it through my taxes which go in part to support PBS and NPR which in turn have contracts with 大象传媒. And as others have said, I find FOX to be just one more voice on American television and they make no pretense about being anything other than a conservative one by American standards. 大象传媒 on the other hand would like the world including us to believe that they are impartial and objective, a claim which even on superficial examination is laughable. They are so far to the left they don't even represent the mainstream of British public opinion but are far closer to Chirac/Schroeder continental Eurosocialist views.
Mark is right on the money!! I'm an American who has lived in Europe for over a decade and the ill-informed, anti-American rubbish one hears from Brits is astounding. The Sept. 13, 2001, Question Time programme finally revealed the depths of the Beeb's anti-American views. Caught red-handed, Aunty Beeb put forth a mumbled, half-hearted apology, but the same attitude still prevails--even if the 大象传媒 try to be more subtle about it.
The "curse of British good manners"? Is that a joke? Brits are a smug, foul-mouthed, self-righteous, binge-drinking lot who think it's the height of sophistication to sneer about everything American. With good reason, Brits are widely regarded as the world's worst tourists...
continued from # 46
...apart from the Americans, who are ridiculed by almost everyone. Which is sad, because they believe they are loved.
Bryn Harris wrote:
"I think it would be interesting to hear from Justin, and the posters here, about America's new-found sensitivity to criticism. Why are a fair few citizens of the wealthiest, most secure, and most powerful country on earth either prone to imagining slights that aren't there (as above), or unable to take legitimate criticism on the chin (e.g. French objection to the Iraq war)? Is there deep-seated unease about America today and what she represents? Do they feel insecure about America's pre-eminence, worrying that it may not last?
What's going on?"
Sir, you are a born diplomat. My respect.. the moment you spend 10 minutes on HYS and become a realist.
Anti-americanism is undeserved even if Americans hadnt sacrificed, which THIS one will NEVER go into as self-defense against the likes of any of you.
Oversensativity? How long have you been stranded?
Paranoia? Theres a fav.
I've heard a few Brits defending Americans. Not you, of course.. hmm interesting, that..
Two of them were expats, now Americans themselves.
I could'nt care less at this point except the whole concept of credibility is getting sold out wholesale, and if you intelligent Brits are being duped by people who dont want certain alliances to stand.. which ones of us are are 'stupid' again?