'Magic is over' for U.S., says French foreign minister

[katty]

more: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/12/europe/france.php

'Magic is over' for U.S., says French foreign minister
By Alison Smale Published: March 12, 2008


PARIS: Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a longtime humanitarian, diplomatic and political activist on the international scene, says that whoever succeeds President George W. Bush may restore something of the United States' battered image and standing overseas, but that "the magic is over."

In a wide-ranging conversation with Roger Cohen of the International Herald Tribune at the launch of a Forum for New Diplomacy in Paris, Kouchner on Tuesday also held out the hope of talking with Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules the Gaza Strip but has been ostracized by the West and by its Palestinian rival, Fatah, because it opposes peace talks with Israel and denies that Israel has a right to exist.

Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency and especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kouchner replied, "It will never be as it was before."

[tabasco]

1. We jumped the shark with Bush.

No question about it.

[katty]

2. yeah, big time-the human wrecking ball

[Olney Blue]

And sadly, many Americans have become disillusioned as well.

[enid602]

3. The magic is over.

Tell me about it.

[AX10]

4. The world is changing.

The power is being spread as it should be. The Poly-Polar world will be much more stable than a uni-polar world. All of that power concentrated is a bad thing.

At the dawn of this millennium, the US was a world leader, and was slated to be the leader in the new era of globalization. That cannot no longer be so. Instead of being the leader, America is now a partner.

[GOPBasher]

7. Exactly, I agree.

This is not a bad thing at all. A more balanced world will lead to more peace, IMO.

[tabasco]

11. I look forward to the day I can call the USA a "partner" in the community of nations.

At this point, I see us as an aggressor nation, a giant military machine which serves giant profiteering corporations.

The day we become a partner is the day we won't spend more than the world(!) on "defense."

[IntravenousDemilo]

5. The "magic" has been gone for a long time. The US has been in decline since about 1950. n/m

[Democrats_win]

6. We've gone from malaise during bush's first term to despair.

[genie_weenie]

8. The Magic was always Smoke and Mirrors in america

it's just with access to information the wage slaves and lesser classes are awake that America is and always has been a Plutocratic Oligarchy...

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. Agree, but he will be Vilified.....nt

[Swede]

10. Fin de siècle.

Change is inevitable.

[spanone]

12. it's fucking tragic what this pissant in our white house has done to our reputation

[taught_me_patience]

13. Never count America out.

Chucklenuts is just a brief stain on our history. Our reputation will be back in the future.