I keep hearing Democratic candidates promise to repair our alliances. Bill Richardson, for example, says it’s the first priority for any new president. Meanwhile, I keep reading conservatives cheer France for moving in a pro-American direction under Sarkozy. Angela Merkel seems to be the most pro-American German leader in a long while. Gordan Brown, remains decidedly pro-American. I met a prominent journalist from India the other week who was telling me that Bush’s approval ratings in India are in — and long have been — in the high 60s and that this popularity is the result of steady work by Bush himself. Sure, the Canadians are starting to balk at serving in Afghanistan, but that says a lot more about Canada than it does about the U.S.

Anyway, I wonder: Which alliances do the Democrats intend to repair? And what, exactly, are they talking about when they say our alliances are in such terrible shape?

Update: A reader sets me straight:

Jonah,
You’ve just got to get the narrative right. During the Bush years,
the Dems and the MSM continually remind us how upset the rest of the
world is with us. “Iraq, sanctions, global warming, stealing David
Beckham… It’s all Bush’s fault. Our allies have turned against us.
Our reputation in the world is in shambles.” Then, sometime in 2009,
after the inauguration of Her Highness, we will start to see stories
about Sarkozy and other leaders praising the U.S., all because we
Americans came to our senses and elected Hillary. In other words,
even if it ain’t broke, we’ll still fix it. You’ve just got to tell
the story right.
Joe
Minneapolis

Update II: From a Canadian:

Easy Jonah…you better correct that post on two counts. First, the
current Conservative government is led by Prime Minister Stephen
Harper who is very pro-American and a strong supporter of the mission
in Afghanistan and the greater War on Terror. Second, Canadians in
general are not balking at serving in Afghanistan. If anything we
have been punching far above our weight but are becoming frustrated
with the rest of our NATO brethren for failing to do their fair share.