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Blue Europe

"Watching George Bush's second inaugural from a bistro in Paris is like watching the Red Sox win the World Series from a sports bar in New York City," New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman writes.

"Odds are that someone around you is celebrating -- I mean, someone, somewhere in Europe must be happy about this -- but it's not obvious," Mr. Friedman said.

"Why are Europeans so blue over George Bush's re-election? Because Europe is the world's biggest 'blue state.' This whole region is rhapsody in blue. These days even the small group of anti-anti-Americans in the European Union is uncomfortable being associated with Mr. Bush. There are Euro-conservatives, but, aside from, maybe, the ruling party in Italy, there is nothing here that quite corresponds to the anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-tax, anti-national-health-care, anti-Kyoto, openly religious, pro-Iraq-war Bush Republican Party. ...

"While officially every European government is welcoming the inauguration of President Bush," the columnist said yesterday, "the prevailing mood on the continent (if I may engage in a ridiculously sweeping generalization!) still seems to be one of shock and awe that Americans actually re-elected this man."

ABC's request

"Over at Power Line, John Hinderaker has found one of the most egregious bits of media bias yet recorded," the Weekly Standard's Jonathan V. Last writes at www.weeklystandard.com, noting that Mr. Hinderaker found the story at a smaller blog, the San Antonio Express-News Watch.

"It seems that [Wednesday] ABC News posted a call on its Web site for help from readers: Jan. 19, 2005 -- For a possible Inauguration Day story on ABC News, we are trying to find out if there are any military funerals for Iraq war casualties scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20. If you know of a funeral and whether the family might be willing to talk to ABC News, please fill out the form below:

"(ABC took down the request, fortunately the blog Captain's Quarters copied the page first.) ABC tried to pass this off as 'Honoring Fallen Heroes on Inauguration Day.' But Hinderaker notes that the specificity of ABC's request gives away the game. 'Note,' he says, 'that only the families of Iraqi war dead need apply. If a soldier died in Afghanistan, or aiding tsunami victims in Indonesia or Sri Lanka, or in a training exercise, never mind. That isn't the "balance" ABC is looking for.'