I've lived in Germany for nearly eight years now, and I've learned that the one constant in German politics is the sensual pull of a stout round of America bashing to make a German politician feel good.

Andrea Merkel has been an exception in that her criticisms have been far fewer and then fact-based as well as diplomatically delivered. Her coalition partners and the Greens and sometimes even the FDP get much mileage out of the most groundless issues whipped into a political froth.

Climate change was the flavor of the day a few weeks back and the missile defense issue, as the post points out, has heated up the airwaves more recently.

Cheers,

The SPD is indeed playing the anti-American card here, and probably successfully, even if, as Dan argues, the tenor of US foreign policy isn't what it was four years ago. But this is precisely why Bush's earlier posture was so damaging in the long term -- reputations are a lot harder to live down than the behavior that earned one the reputation in the first place. We will be paying the price of those few short years of bullying unilateralism for many years to come as political parties in countries around the world respond to the enduring popular hostility it engendered.

I third the previous comments. I haven't lived in Germany, but I have spent a good deal of time among (traveling) germans. Most of them would see little difference between 2002/2007 America. Most, imh experience, are clinton fans, but view Bush as the warlord they've always suspected lurking behind the clinton smile. Those I've known tend to frame their arguments in terms of resource extraction/IMF/WTO injustices, but they are numerous if nothing else. If no one gives continental youth a cut of the profits, they'll cause a fuss.

huh? from the Rozen article:

What remains the same is that a secretary of state in the Bush administration is extremely constrained. Rice belongs to an administration averse to real diplomacy with its adversaries, and therefore lacks a secretary of state’s most elemental tool: the authority to negotiate directly.
(...)
The great fear is that Rice’s entire diplomatic effort could be used to justify future military confrontation.

Can anybody tell me, why Germany and other european nations shouldn't remain skeptical?