Michael Ledeen over at the National Review's Corner reminded me today that the recent elections in Italy resulted in a historic event- for the first time since World War II, no Communist was elected to the Italian Parliament. And in an equally positive corollary, no member of the fellow-traveling Green party won either. Mr. Ledeen also noticed something that the Big Media around the world managed to miss- the incoming government will be decidedly pro-American and pro-George W. Bush. Ledeen writes,
Tomorrow's papers will pretend that this didn't happen, and warn that Berlusconi's allies in the Northern League are mercurial and dangerous, and that his majority isn't as stable as it looks. But it is. And there's an even more annoying feature to these elections, as seen by the chattering classes: Berlusconi is an outspoken, even passionate admirer of George W. Bush and the United States of America. Reminds one of the elections that brought Sarkozy to the Elysee, doesn't it? Best to keep that quiet, or somebody might notice that hatred of America doesn't seem to affect the voters in Italy, France or Germany.
When many foreign governments were in office that enjoyed spiting Mr. Bush's initiatives, the media reported that Bush's America was 'unilateral', although the U.S. would have liked to work with those countries- it was their incumbent governments who preferred not to co-operate with the United States. Now that Germany, France and Italy are governed by those who are more admiring of Mr. Bush, will the Press report that in fact, the previous issues were mostly caused by the attitudes of the foreign governments, and not Mr. Bush's supposed arrogance and unilateralism? Will the Press admit that from the first, this Administration has worked well with many other countries, though those workings are not always in plain view?
Certainly the Bush Administration has made a great number of mistakes. However, the level of vitriol directed at this Administration by the Press is astonishing, especially considering that there appears to be no logical reason for it. The Press has distorted and downright twisted many of the actions the Administration has taken, and their dishonest presentation of the Coalition and its accomplishments has limited the ability of the American people to understand the magnitude of the task and how things have changed. If not for real journalists like Michael Yon, perhaps the media would have succeeded in twisting the tale of Iraq to match their dark victory in Vietnam.
So now that many of our traditional allies in Europe have chosen to elect governments with pro-American and pro-Bush sentiments, perhaps all that loud talk about Bush's 'going it alone' was simply blather. But I won't hold my breath waiting for the media to acknowledge how wrong they were- they never apologize, just move on to the next hit job.
[Cross-posted on StoneHeads]
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It's a little like the "hatred" of William Gates
April 15, 2008 - 14:53 ET by c5thenMany many people like to demonize him and talk trash about him, but the vast majority would be thrilled to hear he was going to be their neighbor, or even a seat-mate on a plane trip.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
PLEASE
April 15, 2008 - 15:02 ET by UnsanePLEASE! I know - and surely respect - where NB is going with this. But when is the last time the U.S. media covered ANY election beyond the borders of the United States?
The media in this country give more air time to Britney Spears' latest drama than they would DARE give ANY event going on in the outside world. The only reason Iraq is covered is because of U.S. involvement there - and even then, only when it suits their purposes.
That's a major reason why I blow such hard earned money on The Economist among other foreign media sources.
Res tantum valet quantum vendi potest.
Unsane - you don't remember the hupla over Spain and Germany?
April 15, 2008 - 15:09 ET by Dee BunkI sure do. There were many other elections that they framed in terms of dissing president Bush but those two were especially loud.
Italy, France, Germany, Canada and others elected since 9/11
April 15, 2008 - 15:09 ET by PawpawNThe bandwagon is rolling on. These so called progressive countries of the 90's are now realistically moving to the right as they have found their open borders, free will, lax rules and laws have downgraded their life, their counrty, etc. The BUSH legacy is building in country after country but ignored here in the US!
Is this worth even
April 15, 2008 - 15:16 ET by usinkoreaIs this worth even considering?
The press couldn't see allies like Spain and Poland and others - or the UK for that matter - at the very time they were saying the US was being "unilateral".
Unilateral means France doesn't agree.
Unless France does agree, then it depends on, what? What a liberal in Manhattan who speaks French thinks?
You Guys Don't Know Your Italian Politics
April 15, 2008 - 15:43 ET by RexRuthlessYou guys must know next to nothing about Italian politics. I
lived more than a decade in Italy,
and, if I hadn’t lived there, I wouldn’t know anything, either.
You can’t get it out of the mainstream media.
Berlusconi is just the successor to the corrupt “pentopartito”,
an assemblage of five parties, including his buddy , Benito Craxi, disgraced
head of the now defunct Socialist Party, who died in exile in Tunisia with a fortune of tens of millions of
dollars in his name, a result of being Berlusconi’s secret partner in
Berlusconi’s illegal TV empire.
There are numerous connections with the Mafia, the need to
pay them to keep repeater towers from being destroyed in the South. And, a lot
more.
Berlusconi doesn’t represent anything new at all,
politically. What they do need is a continuation of the corruption scandal
called “Tangentopoli”, where hundreds were found guilt and dozens committed suicide,
none of which you here know anything about.
The fascists (MSI) renounced fascism and the commies
renounced their communism, but some reestablished the old parties.
Prodi is no socialist. Prodi was a member of the old
Christian Democrats, our allies in the Cold War. And his model is Germany, and Germany’s economy kicks our butt as
does the Euro. Massimo D’Alema, the ex-commie, praised the US and I wouldn’t
fear his re-election at all.
So all of this is just a lack of knowledge about Italy on the part
of our ill-informed press, and the American public as well.
Defining Prosperity Downwards
April 15, 2008 - 15:59 ET by Tinian...and Germany’s economy kicks our butt...
A country that celebrates an 8% unemployment rate as incredibly low.
That says volumes.
Yeah, It does
April 15, 2008 - 16:07 ET by RexRuthlessYeah, their money is now worth a lot more than ours. So, the price of oil goes down for them while ours goes up.
Even their exports went up 3% last year and I am pretty sure that they have a postive balance of payments, as well.
8% unemployment or not, they kick our butt. And, that figure of 8% is false. They work, but off the books.
So, drop the propaganda and don't think like the libs do with knee-jerk responses.
RexRuthless, I believe
April 15, 2008 - 17:52 ET by futbolisgreat1RexRuthless,
I believe the only one spewing propaganda here is you.
I am sure you haven't heard of the small exodus of young Germans that are fleeing Germany in flocks, an exodus not seeing since after WWII. Instead of going to New York, though. These young German college graduates are heading to the West Coast.
Here is another story for you to read of how German economy is doing so "well" Germans are leaving.
Germany's economy isn't kickign our butt. Where do you get your propaganda from?
8% unemployment? you call this a good economy? wow!!
The German economy has somewhat improved, but it is FAR from kicking USA butt. I mean, if this is true, why aren't you living in Germany? why don't you move over there and have a better live there, right?
The Deutch Mark is no longer in existance, so I am unsure what you are referring to when you say that Germany's money is worth more than ours AND the Euro too.
In case you haven't heard, the Euro has replaced all moneys in Europe except that of a few country. The Deutch Mark is dead, so is the French Frank, Italian Lira, etc.
If you look at this exchange rate, you will see that most of the European country moneys equate to the exchange rate of that of the Euro....why?
Wow, if your information about Italy is as accurate as your propaganda about Germany, I would bow out gracefully and walk way Ruthlessrex. Just bequiet and walk away.
RexRuthless, More facts
April 15, 2008 - 17:59 ET by futbolisgreat1RexRuthless,
More facts about Germany vs. USA economy.
Now, interestingly enough, you should look at the GDP per Capita. Look at the USA's vs. Germany's? which one is bigger, stronger, etc?
There are other indicators that also show that the USA economy is the one actually kicking the butt of the German economy.
Unsure where you get your propaganda from.
You need a fact
April 15, 2008 - 18:25 ET by NL207You need a fact transfusion. German inflation is in aggregate over 7% right now. Food has increased about 50% in the last year. Beer, which is a big deal in Germany, has increased by about a third owing to the hop shortage. The prevailing unemployment rate in Germany is about 8% nationwide, ranging from about 6.5% in Bavaria to over 10% in Lower Saxony, Mecklenberg-Fur Pommern and Schleiswig-Holstein.
The Birth Rate amongst native Germans is now about 1 per woman of childbearing years. This means the population of Germanic Germans is declining by half every generation.
Taxes are aggregate, about 60% of all earnings. The national sales tax is 16%.
Cheap Chinese made goods are generally not seen in German stores. The cheap stuff there is considerably more expensive than at Walmart here and originates in Eastern Europe and the Near East. Gasoline. My God! Gasoline is priced in Euros per Liter. Its over $8 per gallon in our terms.
Political repression is rampant. Books, regalia and political parties are routinely banned. And I am not talking about just Nazi stuff. Any party deemed "too radical" is banned, left or right. The Democrats here are conservatives there. The Republicans would teeter on the brink of being banned.
Free speech is prohibited. There are many things you may not legally say in public in Germany. Again, Ein volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer! is not the only expression banned.
Religion is state subsidized, as long as its state approved. That means only two religions are subsidized, Lutheranism and Catholicism.
And this is one of the icons our "Progressive" movement upholds as an example?
Defining Prosperity Downwards
April 15, 2008 - 19:30 ET by TinianEven their exports went up 3% last year and I am pretty sure that they have a postive balance of payments, as well.
For all but one year during the Great Depression America had a positive trade balance. How well did that work out?
8% unemployment or not, they kick our butt. And, that figure of 8% is false. They work, but off the books.
You're saying no Americans work off the books? Sheesh!
Write me back when one of your commie buddy inspired witch hunts against Berlusconi bears fruit. They've been trying it for what -- two or -- or is it three decades?
Cold water coming up!!!
April 16, 2008 - 03:57 ET by UnsaneYeah, their money is now worth a lot more than ours. And they being an export-driven economy, they are screwing themselves. Italy's economy, for one, is getting burned severely by the rise in the euro. But I don't expect a currency fetishist like you to understand that.
8% unemployment or not, they kick our butt. May I suggest heading to Dresden, Chemnitz, and other eastern German cities and letting their respective citizenries know this? They'll be quite surprised to hear this. Oh, and the Germans are beating us so badly, that BMWs are built in SC. You MAY want to do your homework before making such a claim. And, that figure of 8% is false. Um, proof, please. They work, but off the books. Again, proof. And if that is in fact true, that tells me much about their regime of taxation.
So, drop the propaganda and don't think like the libs do with knee-jerk responses. This is just simple reality. The euro is causing problems in some European economies, and Spain and Ireland are experiencing the pricking of housing bubbles that put ours to shame, especially Spain. There is a great article in the recent edition of The Economist on this very topic I suggest you read. Also, familiarize yourself with the "Think Again" section in (IIRC) the July/August edition of Foreign Policy. It may come as a nasty shock to you.
Res tantum valet quantum vendi potest.
US export growth
April 16, 2008 - 13:07 ET by DarkCurrentwas over 10% in 2007. Seems the weaker dollar (among other factors) may have a silver lining so to speak.
Perhaps if a Democrat gets
April 15, 2008 - 15:39 ET by Dan The Man 2Perhaps if a Democrat gets elected the Press will find the world likes us better and is more like us now? Which of the three Democrats will be elected?
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
That is the Truth
April 15, 2008 - 16:09 ET by RexRuthlessThey still hated us under Clinton. I was there in Europe.
I never said the world
April 15, 2008 - 16:25 ET by Dan The Man 2I never said the world likes us any better I said "the Press will find the world likes us better" with the key being Press. The people believe pretty much what the media want them to believe, more so in Europe than in the USA. Generally a Democrat admin will get better press than a GOP admin. And the more liberal the admin the more Europe loves them.
Carter was liked, Regan vilified, Bush I vilified, Clinton liked, Bush II vilified.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
No one in the communist
April 15, 2008 - 16:30 ET by bigtimerNo one in the communist party won, no greenie won a seat....this is historic, now wonder the msm has shut up about this...I knew Berlusconi won, I also knew the msm wouldn't make a whisper about this ....he is a Bush supporter to-boot as the article says...but I didn't know about the complete defeat of the leftists...
My oh my, the poor leftist have had to been so dismayed.
This is delicious as they say...
Thanks for this information.
Now we are about to see what our own country does soon....
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
You can make this stuff up...
April 15, 2008 - 16:58 ET by Chris Norman"Tomorrow's papers will pretend that this didn't happen, and warn that Berlusconi's allies in the Northern League are mercurial and dangerous, and that his majority isn't as stable as it looks."
bt,
Isn't it "delicious" that, knowing so well the MSM bias and agenda, people can pre-write the story angles and headlines for them - and usually be proved accurate when the real stories hit?
Chris... Yep...which you
April 15, 2008 - 17:08 ET by bigtimerChris...
Yep...which you just did perfectly.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
As someone of Italian heritage
April 15, 2008 - 18:39 ET by BobAnthonyAnd a believer in capitalism, this is a fine day. Of course the corporate fascists in the media with their tendencies toward communism, would NEVER ALLOW this to air!
Communism Died A While Ago In Italy
April 16, 2008 - 00:19 ET by RexRuthlessThere are plenty of ex-communists in the new government. The Partito Democratico della Sinistra is made up of commies who renounced communism, such as Massimo D'Alema. They have quite a few seats in the parliament.
The PD is a significant force. Only the old "Refondzione Communista" existed since the mid-90s as a "communist party". That they have died is good, but Berlusconi won't solve their problems.
The Christian Democrats split after Tangentopoli into a left-wing Christian party who is the PD's ally, of which Prodi is the head.
Berlusconi's partners are the Northern League and the reformed fascist party which renounced fascism, headed by Fini.
So, I am not surprised given the lack of knowledge that the American press has about Italian politics that they haven't reported the news in detail.
But Berlusconi is not the solution to the problem. Fini might be and the right-of-center ex-Christian Democrats have to be.
Watch our inflation this year. When we stop excluding fuel and food, it is going to be very big.