The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Read My Ears

If it's Thursday, it must be time to send a link to either Friedman or Dowd. Today, it's Friedman.

Possible new tagline for again!again!, "Exporting Hope and not Fear."
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Read My Ears: "What would Mr. Bush hear? Some of it is classic Eurowhining, easily dismissible. But some of it is very heartfelt, even touching. I heard it while doing interviews at the Pony Club, a trendy bar/beauty parlor in East Berlin. And more and more I think it explains why many Europeans dislike Mr. Bush so intensely. It's this: Europeans love to make fun of na?ve American optimism, but deep down, they envy it and they want America to be that open, foreigner-embracing, carefree, goofily enthusiastic place that cynical old Europe can never be. Many young Europeans blame Mr. Bush for making America, since 9/11, into a strange new land that exports fear more than hope, and has become dark and brooding - a place whose greeting to visitors has gone from 'Give me your tired, your poor' to 'Give me your fingerprints.' They look at Mr. Bush as someone who stole something precious from them."