The part I do agree with is that America's image is directly tied in with its President. The world view of the United States correlates with the confidence it shows in its President. The United States must elect a President who not only has broad based appeal among the electorate but can communicate. If Bush had an irrefutable strategy, he certainly never was abe to communicate it (or much of anything else either). But that can be said of all world leaders. Will our enemies be inspired by our dissension? Probably, but that is the price we pay for having a democracy and freedom of speech.