The XX Factor: What women really think.

Send Them to Irkutsk

No, not the politicians' spouses who can't keep away from prostitutes .... Before it gets forgotten in a flood of Big Beaver jokes, I wanted to pick up on what Juliet wrote:

I saw that BBC poll about world-perceptions-of-America too, and reckoned it was interesting only because it reinforces something I know from observation and anecdote: That this year's U.S. election campaign has had a stunning, transformative, whatever-adjective-you-want impact on foreign perceptions of the United States. Partly this is because the process has been so genuinely surprising, unlike, say, the Russian process—or indeed the British process—in which the leader annoints his successor. Also, I've recently become aware that most of the world thinks segregation still exists in the United States—this despite Powell, Condi, four decades of post-civil-rights-movement politics etc. Whether he wins or not, Obama's candidacy has done more to change that view than any amount of public diplomacy money ever could.

As for the world liking Germany and Japan more than us, or hating us more than Russia, I wouldn't worry about it: Most people in most countries simply know a lot more—a LOT more—about the U.S. and U.S. politics than they do about, say, Russia and Russian politics, so they have strong opinions. Maybe we should sponsor more tourism there (Siberia in January?) as an antidote. And we could send Debbie Stabenow's husband too.

The World Hates America a Little Less

When I saw the headline "America's Global Image Stops Sinking in a Poll" on the New York Times Lede blog, I clicked on it eagerly, expecting (because I'm gullible) some moderate to good news. Sadly, the poll—a worldwide survey conducted by the BBC and GlobeScan—isn't very comforting.

On the plus side, America's reputation abroad has actually improved over the past year in 11 of 23 countries and worsened in just three. But 47 percent of responders still think the U.S. has a negative influence in the world, and just 35 percent think the U.S. has a positive influence.

Also, the world hates America more than it hates Russia, which is pretty amazing. We've only managed to stay ahead of four countries in favorability ratings—North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, and Israel, which isn't much to brag about.

The Axis powers, meanwhile, are doing great: Germany and Japan are at the top of the "mainly positive influence" list. So stop yourself before trying the old "you'd be speaking German if it weren't for us" line on your anti-American friends in Europe.