President Bush is well thought of throughout the former Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe – “New Europe” as Donald Rumsfeld correctly the region – and finally even the New York Times has had to acknowledge this.

When Bush arrives tomorrow in Albania – a mainly Muslim country – he will “bask in unabashed pro-American sentiment without a protester in sight,” admits the New York Times.

“The excitement among Albanians over this visit is immeasurable, beyond words,” said Albania’s foreign minister, Lulzim Basha.
“It’s not about being blind,” said Edi Rama, Tirana’s mayor, who said his whole country was backing Bush’s promotion of democracy abroad. “The U.S. is something that is really crucial for the destiny of the world.”

It is a pity so many of the spoiled elites in Western Europe (not to mention parts of Manhattan) can’t see this too. Or Time magazine.