Some diplomats ambivalent on 2nd Bush term

[Judi Lynn]

Monday, January 17, 2005 · Last updated 11:44 p.m. PT

Some diplomats ambivalent on 2nd Bush term

By PAULINE JELINEK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER


ABC television technicians Mary Quinn, left, and Scott Almond, right, unload lighting equipment on the top of the media stand opposite the presidential reviewing stand and the White House, Monday, Jan. 19, 2005. Bush will watch the inaugural parade from the reviewing stand after he is sworn-in Thursday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON -- For some world diplomats, it's like being invited to a party for someone they don't like.

That's the position they find themselves in as George W. Bush, the man they once hoped would be swept out of office, is inaugurated to his second term as president.
(snip)

Overall, there's "a wariness ... across the board" about a second Bush term, said Christopher Preble, foreign analyst with the Cato Institute think tank.

"Even among those countries who have supported the president, supported U.S. policy," he said, "there may be some concern about what he does next because to the extent those policies are unpopular at home, how much do they risk by being so closely associated with President Bush and his policies?"
(snip/...)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Inaugural%20Foreign

[Demeter]

1. If You Don't Like Bush, Don't Show Up (without signage)

the last thing anyone, even a diplomat, should do is lend credence to this fuckwit with one's presence (unless one is showing solidarity with one's fellow insane person).