International Herald Tribune
The "special relationship" that British leaders have long believed exists between their country and the United States "may still thrive in Downing Street and at Camp David, but it has obviously atrophied among the British public," Professor King wrote in a reference to Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush.
[...]Among the respondents in the new poll, 77 percent did not see America as a "beacon of hope for the world" and, compared with similar categories in a 1975 Gallup survey, had markedly less confidence in "America's ability to deal wisely with present world problems."
Asked to rate President Bush as a leader, more than three-quarters described him as either "pretty poor" (34 percent) or "terrible" (43 percent). Seventy-two percent said his foreign policy, instead of being driven by a desire to build democracy, was merely a cover for American interests.
About two-thirds of respondents said they believed that American troops were doing "a bad job" in trying "to win hearts and minds" in Iraq, while 54 percent used the same term to describe the American effort to bring democracy to Iraq.
"From this side of the Atlantic, America appears to be a class divided and racially divided society and one that fails to offer its citizens anything approaching equality of opportunity," Mr. King wrote. "Nearly three-quarters of Britons, 72 percent, believe American society is essentially 'unequal.' "
Among other findings of the survey: 83 percent of respondents said the United States "doesn't care what the rest of the world think," 65 percent thought America "vulgar," 84 percent said Americans are "preoccupied with money" and 90 percent said the United States was "dominated by big business."
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