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["Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>]

Clinton's scandal(s) didn't affect him anywhere but here.  In fact, the 
whole bruhaha over Luwinksy or however the heck you spell her name, was 
considered more American foolishness by other countries.  He is far better 
liked than most of our prez's in the last few decades.  It is why he was 
sent around with the Senior Bushy.  Sr. Bushy wasn't well liked but 
countries/leaders would see him as long as Clinton was with him.

Bush's drug history wasn't a factor either with other countries.  He was 
looked upon as merely a weak shadow of daddy.  Ya know, kind of pat him on 
the head kinda thing, now go home little boy.  I think the only head of 
state that actually liked him was QEII.  He is one of the few people she has 
ever invited to her actual home.

I routinely read newspapers from about 20 or more other countries.  It is 
quite interesting to see what they are saying.  Quite different than what we 
are told they are thinking/saying!

As to why they think someone is or isn't a great leader, well, it sure can't 
be ethics or morals, I mean, look at your list of 20.  The biggest drunk of 
all time (Churchill), a mass murderer (Hitler), MLK (plegarised his thesis), 
the Ayatullah (need I say more) and so forth and so on.  And, Reagan.  Now 
there's desperation and rewritten history if he's in the top 20!

Lynda
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we 
are
to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and
servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."  Theordore
Roosevelt, 1918.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>


> I think it is all about image.  Roosevelt was well aware that standing
> tall was important as he spent a good deal of time in a wheelchair.  He
> understood first hand about what images convey.  There was a lot of
> hoopla about Obama's abs, and Kennedy's abs....they looked fit and fit
> equals strong.  Reagan did not look fit, but he had movie personas
> working for him(and against him), and of course, he was often filmed and
> photographed on a horse, a trick of prowess and size, a trick Putin also
> has mastered.  Obama is Christian, but cultivates his Muslim heritage in
> areas of the world where that will work for him.  George H.W. Bush
> cultivated an image based on his past directorship of the CIA.  People
> fear the CIA, they don't fear klutzy presidents or peanut farmers.
> Sadly, President Obama's race and heritage are his image, not his legal
> accomplishments or his Senate record or his leadership ability.  If your
> image is tainted by scandal(Clinton) or drug addiction(Bush2), then it
> is really hard to overcome and project anything positive.
>
> Even children know that you can't be friends with everyone.  There is
> gonna be someone that doesn't like you because you are nice or because
> you live in a big house or because you wear second hand clothes, etc.  I
> think the best leaders are those who have instilled a bit of fear.
>
> This made me think of who might qualify as the world's best political
> leader.  I looked at the Time top 20 leaders who have shaped our world:
>
> David Ben-Gurion, Ho Chi Minh, Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi,
> Mikhail Gorbachev, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King, Ayatullah Ruhollah
> Khomeini, V.I. Lenin, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan
> Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, Margaret
> Thatcher, Margaret Sanger, Lech Walesa, Mao Zedong
>
> Interesting list, huh?
> I think a bit of fear goes with just being the President, because
> sometimes incompetence breeds fear, but I think if a leader presents a
> strong image and then wields the big stick in the right moment with the
> right person, he can find the balance and power without really bashing
> his own image.
>
> As usual, I'm longwinded, but I think it is more important for a world
> leader to be feared than to be liked.  Even if you are not liked, you
> get respect, and if you are liked, sometimes you don't have as much
> respect.  Of course, most of the world is trying to just survive day to
> day and couldn't care less about whether our President is feared or
> loved....they just remain hopeful and cautiously optimistic.
>
> To close, I wanted to share this site I found.  I have no idea of who
> some of these people are, so I have some research to do, but isn't it
> interesting that this Iranian page omits both of our two most recent
> Presidents?
>
>
> Bev
>
> --
> Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the ocean's depths, MY son is
> protecting your freedom on the USS Key West, currently deployed
> somewhere in the Pacific and/or Indian Ocean.  Go Navy!
> EarthNSky Farm, NW Georgia, USA
>
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