Yes, we’re doing this on Saturday now! My hope is the change will leave more time for people to engage with each other, and that I won’t clutter your inbox as much when the weekly newsletter goes out on Sundays.
Here are two items for discussion this week:
First, Biden is overseas this weekend and early next week to schmooze our allies and confront Vladimir Putin for aggression in Ukraine and cyberattacks against America. A new Pew Research Center survey found that Biden’s election and a return of multilateral internationalism to the State Department has helped resuscitate America’s image, but many don’t see the US as a “good example” for democratic countries ow as compared to a decade ago. Interestingly, a Pew poll from a few months ago found that many Europeans who disapproved of “democracy” in their country were saying so because they felt it wasn’t democratic enough. Maybe their impressions of America are suffering from a similar dynamic.
In other news, the Times has a piece out covering progressive poll-driven activist org Data For Progress today. I am on the record taking issue with some of the narratives they push on Hispanic voters and attitudes towards police in 2020, but overall, having written a whole book covering the theory and math on why polls are actually pretty good and necessary for the political process, it’s hard to disagree with the general way they have pursued their goals. You, in no uncertain terms, love to see it.
Given that Europe's confidence is/was high when Biden and Obama is/was President and low when Bush and Trump were President, is there a correlation between confidence in U.S. Presidents and which political parties they belong to?
Trump's lasting legacy abroad may be the erosion of trust between the United States and our allies. I'm not sure if our allies believe the United States to be a "good example" or a stable democracy. It also may be hard to predict U.S. foreign policy as well.
Elliot: Another explanation is that European publics align more with Democrats than Republicans on most policies. On your second note, I think it’s actually right for other countries to view the US as an unpredictable country, especially when it comes to foreign affairs. Given the growing gap between the two parties, and the powers of the presidency, I’d price a lot of variance into policy if I was a European nation (or, indeed, and international organization).
Book, book, book. . Want book.
Finishing the edits today (hopefully)!
Happy Saturday! Keep up the good work.
Hi Elliott,
Given that Europe's confidence is/was high when Biden and Obama is/was President and low when Bush and Trump were President, is there a correlation between confidence in U.S. Presidents and which political parties they belong to?
Trump's lasting legacy abroad may be the erosion of trust between the United States and our allies. I'm not sure if our allies believe the United States to be a "good example" or a stable democracy. It also may be hard to predict U.S. foreign policy as well.
I hope you are having a good weekend,
Elliot
Elliot: Another explanation is that European publics align more with Democrats than Republicans on most policies. On your second note, I think it’s actually right for other countries to view the US as an unpredictable country, especially when it comes to foreign affairs. Given the growing gap between the two parties, and the powers of the presidency, I’d price a lot of variance into policy if I was a European nation (or, indeed, and international organization).