Wednesday, March 03, 2004
VIVA LES SONDAGES D'OPINION!
I do recognize that polls are merely a hifalutin form of gossip, but as I love gossip you'll have to forgive me my obsession.
Today's amusement: did you know that we Americans used to think very very highly of the French? No really, despite Jerry Lewis and all the other jokes I vaguely remember from the good old days (but then again, my memory of all jokes is vague),
Today's amusement: did you know that we Americans used to think very very highly of the French? No really, despite Jerry Lewis and all the other jokes I vaguely remember from the good old days (but then again, my memory of all jokes is vague),
France routinely received favorable ratings of 70% or more from the American public throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, making it one of the countries about which Americans had the most positive opinions.Nonetheless, I suspect it will not shock you to learn opinions changed:
The favorable image of France nose-dived from 79% in February 2002 to 59% in February 2003, and then all the way down to 34% in March of last year, just as the war with Iraq was getting underway.Evidently, however, la plus ca change, la plus c'est la meme chose; the ratings are now on their way back up, but only among Independents and Democrats, not Republicans. What, d'ya think, is Stephen Green's (of Vodkapundit fame) current thinking on the French?
