Why we are big fans of President Bush.

last updated 8 January 2015

India

Editorial

Indians are thrilled with President Bush, said Delhi’s Indian Express in an editorial. Sure, there were some anti-war protests against the U.S. president during his visit here this week. But that was just a knee-jerk reaction by our leftist fringe. Most Indians support Bush enthusiastically. Past U.S. presidents have made good impressions, most notably Bill Clinton, who won our hearts in 2000 with his hardy appetite for Indian cooking. But Bush is the first U.S. leader to truly embrace the idea that India can be a great power. He has focused on the issues most important to Delhi: terrorism, nuclear cooperation, and the status of Kashmir. While some Americans worry about the outsourcing of jobs to India, Bush has stood firm, confident in three basic convictions. He believes that Indian prosperity will contribute to American economic growth, that “a rising India will stabilize the global balance of power,” and that “Indian democracy is part of the long-term antidote to terrorism.” No wonder more than half of Indians approve of his foreign policy. “Bush’s personal standing in this country seems higher than in many other countries—including perhaps, at this point, in his own!”