Here's something that I'm sure will not come as much of a surprise at least to those who care about such things, because they've most likely been paying attention. But, apparently, the last year of Barry’s first term saw a continuation of the slow decline in worldwide approval of U.S. leadership that has seemed to plague his administration. And that, my friends, is according to a new Gallup poll. Across the 130 countries surveyed, the median U.S. approval rating in 2012 stood at 41 percent, and that's down from 46 percent in 2011, 47 percent in 2010 and 49 percent in 2009. Quite an accomplishment by someone who was supposed to be the guy that was going to make America respected again. That doesn't seem to have gone too well, even with the kick off apology tour. Overall, U.S. approval ratings between 2011 and 2012 dropped in 70 countries, climbed in 42 with the rest showing pretty much no change. And in those few cases where a country was not surveyed in 2011, no comparison was possible. When asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of the leadership of the United States?" most of the countries producing the highest disapproval scores were, big surprise, in the Middle East and South Asia. "This shift suggests that the president and the new secretary of state may not find global audiences as receptive to the U.S. agenda as they have in the past," commented Gallup pollster Julie Ray. "In fact, they may even find even once-warm audiences increasingly critical."
Some of the biggest year-on-year falls were recorded in Zambia, where approval dropped by 24 points to 59 percent; Kenya, with approval down by 15 points to 68 percent; and Pakistan, which accounted for a drop of 14 points, to just 12 percent – making Pakistan, jointly with Iran, the country where approval of U.S. leadership was the lowest tracked anywhere last year. Some of the biggest year-on-year increases were measured in Chad (up 19 points to 81 percent), Bangladesh (up 14 to 37 percent), Thailand (up 12 to 56 percent) and Mexico (up 11 to 37 percent). And the natural result of all this is that because America is less respected, the world as a whole become much less stable and therefore much less safe. Not that that matters to Barry.
In 2012 we saw U.S. approval ratings sink to 30 percent or lower in 32 countries across the globe. Of those, 13 were Islamic countries, including Egypt at 17 percent, Iraq at 22 percent and Turkey at 26 percent. Among non-Islamic states in the 30 percent-or-lower category were Russia, at 13 percent – third from the bottom, just above Pakistan and Iran – Argentina (19), Greece (24) and India (26). Regional trends showed approval ratings were highest overall in sub-Saharan Africa, although North Africa was largely negative – with the notable exception of Libya, where approval stood at 54 percent. I would have thought it would be a little lower in Libya, the site where the first U.S. ambassador was murder in 30 years. But go figure.
In the Americas, approval ratings declined in nine countries and rose in nine countries. Argentina’s 19 percent approval placed it at the bottom of the list, below Nicaragua (28 percent) and Venezuela (31 percent). At the other end, Haiti accounted for both the highest positive rating, 79 percent, and the biggest year-on-year increase, 12 points. In Europe, approval ratings dropped in 25 countries and rose in 11. The median across the continent was 36 percent – down from 42 percent in 2011, and from 47 percent in 2009. The survey found majority approval of U.S. leadership in only six countries in Europe – Kosovo (87 percent), Albania (80), Britain (69), Ireland (67), Netherlands (60) and Italy (51). Not much of a rousing endorsement, that's for sure.
Russia in 2012 replaced Serbia as the European country with the lowest opinion of U.S. leadership, while double-digit losses were recorded in Belgium (-19 points), Croatia (-15), Hungary (-15), Macedonia (-10) and Austria (-10). Ray said the European trend suggested that "the U.S. was likely shouldering some of the blame for the ongoing financial crisis in Europe." In Asia, approval ratings dropped in 18 countries and rose in 15. Among the highest were the Philippines (64 percent), Cambodia (62), New Zealand (56), Thailand (56) and Australia (55), while the bottom five were Iran and Pakistan (both 12), Sri Lanka (14), the Palestinian territories (15) and Yemen (18). This is but another consequence of a presidency that we may well never begin to recover from.
Because as American influence continues to be viewed by fewer and fewer countries as being a reliable source for good, the further the entire world will continue to decline toward what will eventually become a point of no return, crossing into a period of darkness from which it might well be impossible to escape. Like it or not, the world NEEDS a strong America, and not just militarily, but economically and financially as well. And right now Barry has us extremely weak, both economically and financially, and he is working to further weaken our military. He came into office on a mission which was to take America down a notch or two, and he as succeeded in doing just that. But how can anyone say that the world is a better place as a result? These are dangerous times, my friends, and if America is going to refuse to lead, then somebody else will gladly step up.
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