Image problems?

Soeren Kern:

Bill Clinton has promised that President Hillary will dispatch him and George H.W. Bush abroad to repair the supposed damage to our foreign relations allegedly wrought by George W. Bush. Hillary Clinton herself says she would "send a message heard across the world: The era of cowboy diplomacy is over."

How can America improve its image abroad? Answers to this question are being bandied by all of the presidential hopefuls. John McCain promises to "immediately close Guantanamo Bay." Ron Paul and Barack Obama both say they would withdraw American troops from Iraq.

Implicit is the notion that George W Bush has tarnished America's reputation in the world, and that reversing some of his more contentious policies will make the United States popular again. If only it were that simple.

Although polls do indeed show that President Bush has brought anti-Americanism to the surface in many parts of the world, the roots of enmity toward America reach far deeper than one man and his policies. The problem of anti-Americanism will not go away just because Americans elect a new president.
...

What many have not noticed is how the war in Iraq has harmed the al Qaeda brand. Al Qaeda's war against non combatants in Iraq has not only led to wide spread revulsion in Iraq but throughout the Muslim world. What must be breaking through is that al Qaeda is responsible for the violence and not the US. The US military is held in high regard in most of Iraq as a fair force that the people can count on for protection. Clinton is basically talking about the situation a few years ago, before the world recognized what we are accomplishing in Iraq.

The Strata-Sphere looks at al Qaeda's imagine problem in the Middle East. The post just demonstrates how behind Democrats are in their meme about the bush administration.