February 11, 2009 5:46 PM
- Text
World Sees Vote As Bush Rebuke
(CBS/AP)
Strong Democratic gains in the U.S. elections were seen around the world as a potent rejection of the war in Iraq and the beginning of the end of Republican George W. Bush's presidency.
The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives did not spark widespread fears of government paralysis in Washington, but some expected increasing pressure on Bush to alter course in Iraq and other policies.
The shift in power was also seen as a signal in some capitals that it was time to prepare for an eventual Democratic-led government, while others foresaw a greater emphasis on trade policy and human rights.
In Asia, across the Middle East and in Europe, the results were seen by many as a painful — and well-deserved — blow that left Bush significantly weakened for his remaining two years in office.
"Although his term will not end within the next year, I think Bush is already turning into a lame duck," Yuzo Yamamoto, 60, the manager of a Tokyo business consulting firm, said on Wednesday as the results emerged.
Amid widespread dissatisfaction with Bush, Democrats won control of the House and challenged Republican dominance in the Senate in midterm elections Tuesday. The next presidential election will be in November 2008.
As in the U.S., outside observers saw the bloodshed in Iraq as the major driving force behind the growing popularity of the Democrats. Anti-war sentiment was strong among Muslim countries and others such as France that opposed the Iraq invasion.
CBS News State Department reporter Charles Wolfson said that a Democratic win in either the House or the Senate — or both — would weaken Mr. Bush's leadership, and foreign leaders would take note.
"The calculus of foreign leaders everywhere will be to see weakness if the Democrats prevail and they'll act accordingly," said Wolfson, adding that Mr. Bush's weakness could add to the difficulty surrounding various pending international issues and negotiations.
CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the United States' Ambassador to Iraq was quick to come out Wednesday and tell the Iraqi people the election results wouldn't change the U.S. government's goal of defeating the bloody insurgency in their own country.
"Zalmay Khalilzad also said that President Bush will work with both houses of Congress with a mission to succeed," McCormick said.
Ambassador Khalilzad's reassurance may have fallen on largely disinterested ears however, given the response of some regular Iraqis to the election results.
McCormick says many of the people she spoke with seemed far more concerned with the many problems facing their own communities, and considered the Democrat's victory more of a U.S. domestic issue, unlikely to affect the reality on the ground in Iraq.
Several Iraqis did express hopes that the shift in power in Washington would bring a timetable for the withdraw of U.S. troops, and others told the Associated Press that they were just happy to see Mr. Bush party take a hit.
"Voters have punished the Republicans. They are not happy with the way the leadership has handled the Iraq war," said Chandra Muzaffar, president of the Malaysia-based think-tank, International Movement for a Just World.
Bush's foreign critics cheered in places including Vietnam — the site of an earlier American war in the 1960s and 70s — and Muslim-dominated countries.
"The Republicans lost in the election because the American voters are now fed up and bored with the war," said Vitaya Wisetrat, a prominent, anti-American Muslim cleric in Thailand. "The American people now realize that Bush is the big liar."
The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives did not spark widespread fears of government paralysis in Washington, but some expected increasing pressure on Bush to alter course in Iraq and other policies.
The shift in power was also seen as a signal in some capitals that it was time to prepare for an eventual Democratic-led government, while others foresaw a greater emphasis on trade policy and human rights.
In Asia, across the Middle East and in Europe, the results were seen by many as a painful — and well-deserved — blow that left Bush significantly weakened for his remaining two years in office.
"Although his term will not end within the next year, I think Bush is already turning into a lame duck," Yuzo Yamamoto, 60, the manager of a Tokyo business consulting firm, said on Wednesday as the results emerged.
Amid widespread dissatisfaction with Bush, Democrats won control of the House and challenged Republican dominance in the Senate in midterm elections Tuesday. The next presidential election will be in November 2008.
As in the U.S., outside observers saw the bloodshed in Iraq as the major driving force behind the growing popularity of the Democrats. Anti-war sentiment was strong among Muslim countries and others such as France that opposed the Iraq invasion.
CBS News State Department reporter Charles Wolfson said that a Democratic win in either the House or the Senate — or both — would weaken Mr. Bush's leadership, and foreign leaders would take note.
"The calculus of foreign leaders everywhere will be to see weakness if the Democrats prevail and they'll act accordingly," said Wolfson, adding that Mr. Bush's weakness could add to the difficulty surrounding various pending international issues and negotiations.
CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the United States' Ambassador to Iraq was quick to come out Wednesday and tell the Iraqi people the election results wouldn't change the U.S. government's goal of defeating the bloody insurgency in their own country.
"Zalmay Khalilzad also said that President Bush will work with both houses of Congress with a mission to succeed," McCormick said.
Ambassador Khalilzad's reassurance may have fallen on largely disinterested ears however, given the response of some regular Iraqis to the election results.
McCormick says many of the people she spoke with seemed far more concerned with the many problems facing their own communities, and considered the Democrat's victory more of a U.S. domestic issue, unlikely to affect the reality on the ground in Iraq.
Several Iraqis did express hopes that the shift in power in Washington would bring a timetable for the withdraw of U.S. troops, and others told the Associated Press that they were just happy to see Mr. Bush party take a hit.
"Voters have punished the Republicans. They are not happy with the way the leadership has handled the Iraq war," said Chandra Muzaffar, president of the Malaysia-based think-tank, International Movement for a Just World.
Bush's foreign critics cheered in places including Vietnam — the site of an earlier American war in the 1960s and 70s — and Muslim-dominated countries.
"The Republicans lost in the election because the American voters are now fed up and bored with the war," said Vitaya Wisetrat, a prominent, anti-American Muslim cleric in Thailand. "The American people now realize that Bush is the big liar."
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Tucker Reals Tucker Reals is a senior news editor and overnight site editor for CBSNews.com, based at CBS News' London bureau.
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