 European allies alienated by President Bush's first four years in power offered Wednesday to let bygones be bygones, saying they want to work with the new administration and seeking, right from Day 1, to get the new White House to listen more to overseas opinion.
[Digs little finger in ear]
"Dick, I keep hearing this buzzing in my ear!"
"Me, too, Dubya! Sounds like French or something!" |
French President Jacques Chirac, in a congratulatory letter, said he hoped Bush's second term "will be the occasion for strengthening the French-American friendship."
| "And what could be stronger than French-American friendship, eh, mon ami?" |
"We will be unable to find satisfying responses to the numerous challenges that confront us today without a close trans-Atlantic partnership," wrote Chirac. He addressed the letter to "Dear George."
| "Dear George, Think of all we've done for you!" |
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who also clashed with Bush over Iraq, wrote the president a congratulatory letter expressing "great expectations" for renewed cooperation. "The world stands before great challenges at the beginning of your second term: international terrorism, the danger of weapons of mass destruction, regional crises — but also poverty, climate change and epidemics threaten our security and stability. These challenges can only be mastered together."
Another critic of the Iraq war, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government wants "a relationship of efficient, constructive cooperation with the U.S. government and with President Bush, respecting the ideas of each side." Zapatero, who angered Washington by withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, stayed up most of the night to watch as Republican red crept across the U.S. electoral map.
Election interest in Europe was intense, as was the disappointment many felt over Bush's victory. Some saw it as proof that Europe and the United States are farther apart than ever.
| I don't feel very flexible. Perhaps you should move closer to us? |
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