Foreign opinions of the United States, even those of allies, are never the last word in domestic politics. But since some politicians are concerned about our maintenance of "strong alliances," they'd be overjoyed to know that the current administration of at least one is duly satisfied:
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe said Friday there will be trouble if Democratic challenger John Kerry beats incumbent George W Bush in the U.S. presidential election.Takebe, who is seen as a right-hand man of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, told a Nippon Broadcasting System radio program, referring to the Nov 2 presidential election, "It would mean trouble if it is not President Bush. Mr Kerry is trying to address the North Korean problem bilaterally. That is totally out of the question."
...Takebe made the comments a day after Koizumi expressed explicit support for Bush ahead of the November poll.
Spoken like an ally. Just how many countries whose broad national interests coincide with our own wouldn't agree?