Guardian blog: Americans should be proud

The ugly American mark two is dead. Overnight six years of glib European identification of “American” with right-wing fundamentalism is over. The gun-toting, pre-Darwinian Bushite, the Tomahawk-wielding, Halliburton-loving, Beltway neo-con, damning abortion as murder and torturing Islamo-fascists has been lain to rest, and by a decision of the American people. Americans should be proud and the world should take note.”

UK journalist Simon Jenkins via Guardian blog

Yes, but only to some extent. Take George Allen for example. He is quite obviously a racist, yet Allen got so close to getting elected into the US Senate that a recount is likely.

Statements like the ones Allen let fly are cause for resignation from political offices in most other countries (at least the ones with a working Democracy). In Virginia, I am not convinced they hurt his campaign all that much.

It’s going to take years to repair the damage the Bush team has done. This is damage of Nixonian proportion. And that’s not even counting the stuff that might pop up in the next two years.

But yes, it’s a start. Maybe this can be “step one” of 12 steps to kick the addiction to imperialism?