A book entitled "The Bush Survival Bible is on sale in the United States to provide Kerry supporters with "250 ways to make it through the next four years."
For a society so divided and those who had so eagerly wished to see Bush go, Gene Stone is offering a host of hoaxes for people to escape out of policies and make do with the "1461 days" when Bush is in office, while others say "unite us".
But what about the rest of the world largely "anti-Bush"?
A US expert says a reelected President Bush will adhere to his foreign policy, but the tactics has to change. Charles Jones from Washington's Brookings Institution says Bush may interpret his election victory as popular endorsement for his policy. The only thing he may change is "to emphasize diplomacy more."
But Mideast and European observers stress a change of policy, not just attitudes.
Dr. Manar El Shorbagy, Academic Director at Alwaleed Bintalal Centre for American Studies at the American University in Cairo, finds "a popular feeling of dismay on the part of the Arab people," because "there's never been an administration before so successful in alienating so many people in such a short time (four year) as the Bush administration." To her and many others in the Middle East, putting Iraq ahead of the Palestinian plight is never acceptable. But as the US remains the most influential country in reviving the peace talks and Bush gets his second term, the Arab world may have to make do with Bush.
Then in Europe, where Bush's unilateral action is equally unpopular, the sentiment remains almost the same. Daniel Brown from Radio France International, witnesses "early signs that Europe is keen to rebuild relations", but he finds it "very difficult to be optimistic about the next four years." Europeans remain either onlookers when the US makes decisions or reluctantly wash the dishes after Uncle Sam cooks the dinner. When people are talking about whether Iran is the next target, even the British leaders rule out the possibility of fighting together with US troops in another Muslim country.
Perhaps East Asia has some love for Bush, but with reservations. As Willy Lam, a newspaper columnist and political commentator in Hong Kong, puts it, "In general, I think the response in Asia has been quite positive. Of course that's always a kind of guarded optimism." Countries vary in responding to Bush's reelection.
The most typical "make do with" attitude comes from the North Koreans, who had hoped for a Kerry win, not out of preference, but because for them there's no worse choice than Bush. Pyongyang and Washington have been in deep suspicion of each other and neither seems eager to show flexibility in the six-nation talks on the nuclear issue. Now they have to cope with the man they dislike the most.
Unlike the north, Japan appears to be the happiest. Even before the US presidential race, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi openly expressed preference for Bush over Kerry, as Tokyo saw benefits from his tough policy.
Then the South Koreans. They may be happy to hear the US willing to resume the six-way talks aiming at denuclearizing the North, but they regret it being inflexible. Without inflexible policies from either side (the North and the USA), the talks will remain deadlocked, and the South has to "make do with Bush".
China, too, has mixed feelings, with good reasons either for or against Bush.
On the positive side – * It's better to deal with an old face rather then getting acquainted with a new one in the first few months of his presidency;
* With a Republican in the White House, there might be less opposition from the Republican-ruled Congress to major decisions of the administration;
* A president John Kerry, as a Democrat, would likely focus more on economic issues and there might be more frictions on the bilateral track, e.g. trade imbalance, exchange rate, rising unemployment and human rights;
* And with more aggressive policies, Bush is more likely to make new enemies elsewhere and would be busy dealing with them. Then life could be better off for China.
But there are also things that make China uneasy – * China will be furious to see a Republican president continuing supplying weapons to Taiwan in the interests of the US military complex, which is a power base of the GOP. This may also be seen as encouragement for the Island's independence pursuit, although Washington has vowed time and again that it does not support the independence movement.
* The US maintains a tough line on North Korea without giving adequate consideration to its security concerns and to others' worries.
* Washington continues it military redeployment designed to contain China.
* It pressurizes Europe against lifting the arms embargo against China.
* And it refuses to hand over East Turkistan militants released from Guantanamo Bay.
The US might find China a key partner on many issues. The two now have more commonality and depend on each other in more areas. Washington needs Beijing in solving the Korea nuclear issue; it needs cheap Chinese exports as it contributes to low inflation and needs China on non-proliferation and anti-terrorism. But when China feels frustrated over US containment, especially on the question of Taiwan, its enthusiasm for cooperation on other key issues may die down.
Three years ago, because of 9/11, a French newspaper editor touched the hearts of many when she said, "Today, we are all Americans." The US enjoyed extensive support when it launched a war on terror in Afghanistan. But three years later, agony and anger replaced sympathy and support, although the US says it's still fighting against terrorism. It failed to win UN endorsement for war on Iraq. Only the British joined American troops in the combats. Others act more like a coalition of the unwilling or the reluctant. Ricardo Alday, US Bureau Chief of the Mexican News Agency, regards it a lesson of "either do thing together, or don't count us in." To avoid embarrassment, he says others can "seduce and engage with the USA by offering more help if it agrees to more multilateral approaches."
The US elections had provided hopes for averting the dilemma. But since it's "still him", they have to make do with him.
(The views here are only personal. They do not
necessarily represent CRI's official policy.)
A radio person, he is strongly interested in
international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often
misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the
true picture of the country, the policies and meanings.
So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends and colleagues find
a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized.
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