British And French: Less Confidence In Bush To Do The Right Thing In World Than Putin

The New York Times reports that President Bush is so unpopular in Europe, many allies have less confidence in him than former Russian President Vladimir Putin:

At several stops along the trip, Mr. McCain struck a markedly different tone from that of President Bush. Mr. Bush is so unpopular, even with America's allies, that people in Britain and France told pollsters last spring that they had even less confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs than they had in President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Mr. McCain spoke in Britain and France about the need to take action to reduce global warming, a welcome stance in much of Europe, which accused Mr. Bush of doing too little in that area. And in an opinion article that ran in Le Monde and The Financial Times, Mr. McCain called for a "successor" to the Kyoto treaty on global warming, which Mr. Bush had opposed, an act that angered much of the world.

Keep reading.