World cranky on America

In an unusual international collaboration, ten leading newspapers have partnered to run identical polls gauging public attitudes towards the 2 November US election. The project was initiated by the Canadian newspaper, La Presse, based in Quebec.

While the findings have no direct impact on the US election - the poll excludes the Americans whose vote really counts - they show the Bush Administration is struggling to secure popular support for its policies outside American borders.

The hostility is directed not only at the White House: the image of the US itself appears to have suffered collateral damage. This is despite the fact that most of those polled believe in the US alliance and declare they are not anti-American.

You can read more in the Sydney Morning Herald story here.