Well, I am very optimistic. I trust the American people to do the right thing by voting President Bush back into office.

He's a man who loves his country and will do all in his power to protect it. He would never sell us out to France or Germany to gain favor in Europe, like some people would, and he has never held covert meetings with known communist leaders/parties.

Why do you think there is such a negative image of America in Europe? This attitude didn't start when George W. Bush took office. I can remember back in '96-7 being told that if I were to journey to Europe, make it well known that I was NOT from the U.S. If it was known, I could place myself or my family in jeopardy.

Why is that?

This is just my opinion and could be wrong, but I think it holds water.

Since the media has such a wide viewing audience, Americas' dirty linen is aired on a regular basis, worldwide! Vietnam was the beginning of America's fall in the eyes of our European friends.

"A country at war with itself will fall." The media doesn't broadcast the positive side of an issue, only the negative. That's all Europe has heard for the past 40 years. How much coverage did you see or hear about the victory in Afghanistan? These people, with the unswerving assistance of our soldiers, have turned a page in history. They held their first democratic election ever! This is monumental, but you won't hear much about it because it doesn't fit with the media agenda.

Some past and present headlines:

"Vietnam war is Quagmire"
"U.S. Soldiers Brutalize Vietnamese Civilians"
"U.S. Soldiers Rape and Burn"
"U.S. Immoral War in Vietnam"
"U.S. Soldiers Mutilate Babies"

and on and on. I know these were the headlines because I'm a Canadian and not once did I see anything positive about Americans or their war effort in Vietnam. All of this negativism was geared to incite hate both abroad and at home.

Right on the heels of the Vietnam scandall was Watergate. Not only was it broadcast that the military was corrupt only a few years earlier, but the highest office of the land was also corrupt.

President Nixon was literally tried and convicted by the media and the Democratic Party before it even hit the courts. Every accusing, negative statement was broadcast throughout the world.

Again, America's international credibility and image are smudged.

Next was the mockery the Democratic Party tried to make of Ronald Reagan. And they were true to form - merciless! Again, their sarcastic, negative remarks were the focus of the media and throughout the world.

One Major Difference was that Ronald Reagan was not deterred from his mission - defeating a communist regime.

Then, when things were just beginning to simmer down, along comes President William Jefferson Clinton who proceeds to get a blow-job in the Oval office.

You can itterate that what he does in the privacy of his own office is not our concern. Wrong. What he does with his own time in his own home is not our concern. What he does while upholding the position of the highest office in the world, is. What this man did was broadcast throughout the world. He made a mockery and laughing-stock of the Oval Office. He dimished the power that office holds.

Now we come to Iraq. Once again, the Democratic Party is screaming at the top of their lungs that this is a "quagmire". President Bush failed this and President Bush failed that; President Bush lied. This is the rhetoric that is resounding throughout the middle east. And I know democrats don't like to hear this, but it is emboldening the terrorist effort and making our military's job in Iraq that much more difficult.

The Democrats with the aid of the liberal news media is once again attempting to destroy the American image, not only here at home but worldwide.

The image of the U.S. was already tenuous at best. The news media are responsible for the American image throughout the world, not George W. Bush or his cabinet and not the Vietnam Veteran. They have all proven themselves to be good and honorable people who have our nation's best interests as their driving force.

John Kerry on the other hand....