While Obama's reception in Europe among the general population has been impressive, the reaction of Europe's leaders to his visit it truly remarkable - perhaps even unprecedented. Usually foreign leaders prefer that the incumbent party in the U.S. be re-elected, since they will know what they are getting and are generally risk averse. But this time they aren't making much of a secret of the fact that they would rather deal with a 47 year old novice on the international stage than the experienced heir apparent to the present administration.

Which tells you a great deal about how unpopular George Bush's policies have been. Usually our European friends prefer the devil they know. This time they've decided that the devil they know is so bad that anybody else would have to be better.