The world reacts to Clinton's confession.
JPR:
Check out how the world reacted to Clinton, I liked the reactions from Sweden,the commentary by Midi Libre from France and the bit by Corriere della Sera from Italy the best but they are all very illuminating in their own rights as it shows the temperament of various people and countries. China as usual very reserved I guess that is Communism for you and no humor here, Iran as usual rambling about the Zionists and such nonsense but didn't know La Monde had a sense of humor<g>
Britain
"Lying Clinton Says Sorry," declared London's Daily Mail across the
front page. "Bull Clinton," announced the Daily Star, a racy tabloid.
"Maybe it is unrealistic to expect politicians to act like angels. They are
human beings like the rest of us after all. One affair, maybe two, might be
excusable. But Bill Clinton is a serial philanderer," said the Sun tabloid in
its editorial. "A world that has no respect for the leader of America, has
no fear of America either."
"He should have owned up in the first place," said Derek Prior, 60, a
security guard in London. "A lot of people take him as a clown ... I just
feel sorry for his wife."
France
The daily Le Monde carried a front-page cartoon of a weeping Clinton
apologizing to the Statue of Liberty, his hand reassuringly gripping her
shoulder. "Take your hand off me!" Liberty snaps back.
"Feelings and desires are no one's business but one's own," said Socialist
deputy Jack Lang, calling for an international support movement for
Clinton. "Oppressive regimes never hesitate to dive into one's private
life."
"The obscenity of the media-judicial circus is far more disturbing than a
presidential womanizer's lack of sexual control," said an editorial in the
provincial daily Midi Libre.
"One doesn't know whether to laugh or cry," said Le Figaro newspaper.
"The American president played with words as if, oral or not, sex wasn't
always sex."
Italy
The best-selling Corriere della Sera carried a cartoon showing Clinton
holding up his hand but looking down his trousers as he said: "I swear on
everything I hold most dear."
The center-left La Repubblica showed a naked Clinton clasping his
stars-and-stripes boxer shorts, captioned in English: "Starr and strip
forever."
"Dear Hillary, when the stock markets are shut, you ought to pack your
bags," was the advice of the right-leaning Il Giornale.
Sweden
The Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet questioned whether the United States
could now "wash away the stain" of Monday's "absurd spectacle."
"(This is) a country where a dual morality, hypocrisy and nonsense have
been allowed to dominate politics and the mass media for years, and this
doesn't make it look so reliable as a world policeman," the tabloid said.
"Clinton's careful confession yesterday and his apology probably means
he will be able to remain president, but with reduced authority and this
ridicule hanging over him."
Germany
Germans on the streets of Bonn expressed distaste at the way Clinton had
handled the matter but saw the relationship itself as a private matter.
"If he'd said straight away (a relationship existed), it wouldn't have been
bad. I think he's lost credibility because of the way he's handled it," said
Annaliese Thielen, a gift shop saleswoman.
"At the end of the day, it's his family that he needs to answer to. I don't
think the presidency should collapse on such an issue," said Horst
Freyberg, a grocery shop worker.
Palestinian Authority
"Obviously we have been paying the price of a besieged administration
incapable of taking bold positions in the peace process," said Palestinian
council member Hanan Ashrawi.
"The peace process has been paying the price of a shaken president and
the diversion of attention," said Ashrawi, who until last month served in
the Palestinian Cabinet.
Israel
A top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday
that Clinton's domestic troubles had no bearing on the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations.
"The peace process has not been interrupted by the problem that the
president has had and we expect it not to be interrupted in the near
future either," the aide, David Bar-Illan, said.
Lebanon
"A man is a man all over the world. Clinton has power, that means he
can do what he wants," said Reem Nazer, a 22-year-old acting student,
pondering the fate of the U.S. president in a bustling Beirut coffee shop.
"But because he is president, he should not do such things in the open; he
should do it in secret," she added, sitting beside two friends who agreed
with her logic.
Egypt
The state-owned al-Ahram newspaper carried a cartoon showing a man
attempting to break off an illicit relationship with a woman, saying: "This
Monica story makes me fear for my future."
"With everything else going on in the world, I think it's very stupid to
pursue such a matter so intensely, spending so much money," said an
Egyptian public relations officer in Cairo.
Jordan
In Jordan, Saleh al-Qallab, writing in the al-Arab al-Yawm newspaper,
had tough words for Clinton, saying perhaps he "will end up in the
dustbin of history" due to "his womanizing urges."
But he also urged readers to "the great positive elements we should
consider which result from Bill Clinton's testimony ..."
"In third world countries, governed by demi-gods who have come to
power on the backs of tanks and usurped power, no power on earth can
bring the ruler who considers himself the envoy of the divine power to
the courtroom until after he has fallen."
Iraq
Iraq's most influential newspaper accused Israel and the U.S. Jewish lobby on
Tuesday of hatching the sex scandal.
"The basic Zionist game has become clear ... that Clinton's scandal was
aimed at replacing him with Vice President Al Gore from the Democratic
Party who is known for his pro-Zionist stand," the Babel daily said.
Japan
"It is an internal affair in the United States," Sadaaki Numata, the foreign
ministry press secretary told a news conference. "We are not in a
position to comment ... on the question."
"It doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with the president's job," said
Seiko Fujii, a 33-year-old teacher. "But having the president testify like a
regular person is amazing."
China
"This is a U.S. internal affair," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "We
don't think it will influence Sino-U.S. relations."
Philippines
Clinton did the "right thing," said President Joseph Estrada, who fully
acknowledges his past philandering and offspring from several women
other than his wife.
He said Clinton "can now go on with the problems concerning America."
Australia
"It's high drama," said John Porter, the managing director of a satellite
TV company, "the fact that the leader of the last remaining superpower
on Earth has to discuss his sexual dalliances in public."
Source:CNN
cnn.com |
