Can Kerry Win Back Europe?

Senatory Kerry has made a concerted effort to suggest that his election would bring a renewed emphasis on alliance-building and international cooperation. Yet even for those who think those are good things, and I do, Sgt. Missick reminds us to maintain realistic expectations about how much Kerry could accomplish:

I do feel that Senator John Kerry will probably have a much more congenial relationship with European leaders than President Bush, but that is a matter of personalities. What I believe goes unrecognized is the fact that many European leaders also have an electoral obligation to their constituents, and European politico's have an all-too recent reminder in the Spanish elections of what happens when elected officials step outside of the will of their own public and support the Iraqi people. Clearly, a change of heart can happen on the interpersonal basis of leader to leader between European and American officials, but to convince the vast throngs of uber-progressive populaces (by American standards) is something that I believe is above the ability of any American political leader.

Now I think Missick decidedly understates the substantive non-personality differences between Kerry and Bush, particularly when it comes to their view of alliances in international relations. And he also understates the argument that Bush has uniquely poisoned the well, although he mentions that he has "written in the past how I believe the apparent discord in transatlantic alliances between the United States and Europe would have occurred with or without President Bush in office, and that it is mostly a bi-product of new dynamics in a post-Cold War world." There's a lot to argue with in that thesis, but that's for another day.

Regardless of the nuances of the argument, it is important for Kerry supporters to keep realistic expectations of his ability to restore the great Western alliances to their former (mythic?) glory. It is not likely to make much electoral difference, since all a Kerry supporter probably needs to believe on the foreign policy front is that Kerry will not be worse (since that seems to be where his opponents are trying to attack him). But for those who take a less election-driven view of the candidates, it is a much-needed dose of reality.