The medium Lobster catches a crab. At fafblog, the medium lobster wrote

“The disaster for Kerry becomes even more ugly and treacherous when faced with the impossible task to name these imaginary "foreign leaders" who would oppose the reelection of Bush, because the casual voter's mind immediately fills with the names of foreign leaders who have supported the Texan president: Tony Blair, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Tony Blair, Federated States of Micronesia President Joseph J. Urusemal, Tony Blair, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar, Tony Blair.”

Clearly his love of Bush caused him to overestimate Bush’s support overseas. As Brad DeLong notes Alexander Kwasniewski is off the reservation, saying he was taken for a ride over Iraqi WMDs. That doesn’t sound so good in English. I hope the Polish original makes it clear that Pres Kwasnewski did not literally ride over weapons of mass destruction which would be suicidal not just politically suicidal.


Now Kevin Drum’s sister points out an article which tends to confirm my suspicion that Tony Blair is very eager to see the last of Bush.

“…the signals have been slowly emerging. ABB. Anyone But Bush.

First there was the comment by Giddens. Then came the plans for a Commons Early Day Motion signed by a group of Blairite backbenchers welcoming Kerry's candidature. Then there was the Downing Street official spoken to by The Observer last week who said that multilateralism, made much of by Kerry, is a progressive's idea, not a neo-conservative one.

And what of the fact that Blair has yet to make it to America to accept the Congressional Medal, one of the highest honours the US can confer on a foreign leader? Downing Street knows that pictures of a grinning Bush clasping Blair by the shoulder are not what might be described as 'politically helpful'. “

President Urusemal seems to be on the reservation (uhm sorry pres. I meant to say freely associated state) but I am not 100% sure he is actually a *foreign* leader. Trying to get information about the foreign policy of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), I found



TRAVEL OF FSM OR RMI CITIZENS TO THE U.S.: Citizens of the FSM and RMI (but not alien spouses or children) have unrestricted access to the United States to live, work, study and assume "habitual residence"

And this amazing fact


“There are approximately 1000 FSM citizens in the US armed services (total FSM population is roughly 107,000).”

I think that means that the FSM and not the USA is the country with the highest rate of enlistment in the US armed services.