Here’s a rough translation of the BILD endorsement of President Bush. (Revisions are welcome!)
There are a couple of interesting points coming from the European perspective.
Why George W Bush is the better president
By Hugo Mueller-VoggIn six days, on November 2, America has the choice: George W. Bush or John Kerry? Here, BILD author Hugo Mueller Vogg names ten reasons why it would be better for Germany, the world, and America if George W. Bush remains president.
1. Bush?s priorities are clear. He sees the contempt of Islamic fundamentalism toward humanity and its murderous Mullahs as the greatest danger for the western world.
2. Bush has learned the lessons of history. Good words are no help against fanatics ready for violence, only military strength. For him ? though otherwise for Kerry ? there is no ?Wackeln? (waffling? wobbling?)
3. Under Bush, the USA as a superpower has carried the main burden in the Islamic fanatics? declared ?Holy War? ? militarily, financially, and in blood.
4. Apart from the War on Terror and the terrorists, a re-elected Bush will do everything to prevent the development of new atomic powers. That applies in particular to the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
5. Bush has learned that American can militarily defeat every country but can?t make peace single-handedly. Therefore international cooperation will be strengthened in a second term of office. But he will not make America dependent on the the coordination of Syria or Libya in the UN.
6. Bush knows that Europe and Germany do not have the military capability to engage themselves considerably beyond their current international missions. Therefore he will not call for this contribution. Kerry however would do exactly that ? and the damaged German-American relations will be burdened further.
7. Under Bush, America will remain a reliable partner of Israel in its fight for survival. This must be laid out plainly for us Germans.
8. The Republicans were always ever more decided proponents of free world trade than the Democrats. That applies also to Bush compared with Kerry. And that is good for the export nation Germany.
9. Every new American government makes mistakes; Bush has already made his. Kerry however has never held an executive post. He would be ill-prepared as few presidents before him.
10. With Bush we know what we should expect. Nobody knows where John Kerry stands and where he wants to lead America and the world.
By the way ? there was already once a U.S. president whom most Germans held as a dunce.
His name: Ronald Reagan.
We owe the end of the Cold War and the Reunification to him. It is quite possible that we also will be thankful to George W. Bush one day.