The Left is fond of saying that the U.S. is hated by the rest of the world because of George Bush.  Those on the American and European Left believe that Bush's actions against Islamic terrorists have made us extremely unpopular in the Islamic world. 

However, it turns out that the current American leadership is far more popular in the Muslim world than it is in the West.  It's ironic that a large part of the reason the Left "hates" George Bush is their belief that he has offended vast portions of the Muslim world.

But, according to this Gallup poll he has upwards of an 80% approval rating among Islamic populations in African nations.  It's interesting that in Sierra Leone 78% of Muslims approve of the Bush administration.  But in Europe it's only 20%.  In America, it's just above 30%.  But the people (Muslims) who the Left believes we are "attacking" strongly approve of our actions.  Since the Left is so fond of deferring to the views of those in less-developed nations, maybe they would be wise to check their views towards the Bush administration and bring them into a closer alignment with how Muslims around the world are thinking.  

Gallup Poll

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Approval of U.S. leadership among Muslims living in sub-Saharan Africa is higher than approval among residents in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.

When asked in 2007 whether they approved of the job performance of the leadership of the United States, strong majorities of self-identified Muslims in Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, and Guinea said they did approve. In Chad, Mauritania, and Niger, Muslim residents' approval is lower (50% in each of the three Sahelian countries approve of U.S. leadership). But it is still higher than the median 13% approval rating across 11 countries surveyed in the MENA region in 2007. Within the region, approval ratings range from 7% in the United Arab Emirates and 9% in Saudi Arabia to 55% in Morocco.

Among Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa surveyed, approval is lowest in Sudan (31%). However, that number is identical to American respondents' approval of their own leadership (31%) when they were asked the same question in August 2007. As a point of comparison, the median approval score of U.S. leadership among the public in the European Union (excluding Luxembourg and Malta) is 20%.

How They Stay Plugged in About the Outside World

Greater reliance on certain types of news media may help explain, at least in part, why approval of U.S. leadership is higher among Muslims living in sub-Saharan Africa than approval among those living in the MENA region. Among African Muslims surveyed, radio (national and international) is by far the source they consider "very important" in keeping them well-informed about events in other countries. But for those living in the MENA region, international television is the source they deem to be very important to stay abreast of international news events.