European leaders see blond Bush not Obama redux
Under George Bush, Europe largely united against his war on Iraq in an extremely rare moment of unity. It hearkened back to the days of Charles de Gaulle in France and Willy Brandt in West Germany, two leaders for whom US policy didn’t automatically dictate eidetic policies from the primary capitals of late 20th century non-Communist Europe.
Under Obama, leaders like Merkel, Sarkozy and later Hollande were more or less foreign policy mouthpieces of the White House. Britain traditionally followed the US throughout both the Bush and Obama presidencies.
