2.11°K is a temperature reading on the Kelvin scale. It translates to -271.04°C. This is somewhere close to absolute zero, the point at which all molecular movement in the European soul ceases.
In short, the general European public opinion is chilly. The clear majority of the continent's residents do not like either George W. Bush or the views and values he stands for. Bush has won re-election for a second term. Head-shaking was the order of the day on Wednesday morning, repeated from Lisbon to Lapland.
Furthermore, Bush did not merely squeak home. He won another four years in handsome fashion. The Republicans also strengthened their position within Congress.
Mr. President holds in his hands an almost blank cheque for the implementation of his policies. It was a "Yes" vote for a hard-line world view. Josef Stalin is credited (by Bush's predecessor Harry S. Truman at the 1945 Potsdam Conference) with having said of religion: "Mr Churchill, Mr Prime Minister, how many divisions did you say the Pope had?"
In like fashion, some American conservatives might scoff at the opinions of the European liberal mainstream: "How many electoral votes did you say they had?"
The most impassioned opponents of President Bush would do well now to think positively: the baseball-capped and unkempt Michael Moore has doubtless secured a lot of good footage for a new movie, and soon it will be possibile to gather once more in cinemas and applaud.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 4.11.2004
