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The two editorials in Friday's Steamboat Today contrasted the informed wisdom of Tom Friedman with the parochial propaganda of Suzanne Fields.

Friedman has both the intellect and the seasoned life experience to back up his opinions. His years of experience as a reporter in the Middle East have given him a reputation for honest reporting that is unparalleled.

Had his advice on the prosecution of the war in Iraq and the politics of the region been summarized for our president, we might not have such a mess there now.

Our president often has proudly stated that he does not read newspapers. The record of this president is one of creating chaos in the region and totally alienating the popular support of the rest of the world, while at the same time making our economy more dependent on the region and the rest of the world. Friedman makes this clear.

Fields selects one book to defend her assertions about "Old Europe." I lived there as an employee of a U.S. corporation for 23 years, and I still have many contacts there. Her assessment of the European attitude toward us is considerably off the mark. It is as nonsensical as Bush's "They hate us for our freedom."

In actuality, Europeans admire us for our entrepreneurial spirit, our social mobility, our ability to get things done. They are particularly amazed that a nation composed of such a diversity of races and religions cannot just hold together, but also prosper.

They still love much of our culture. They still love us as individuals. When the actions of our government are particularly stupid, as in Vietnam or Iraq, they tend to think that we Americans probably were not well-informed. However, they almost universally think that our president is either incredibly stupid or, possibly, simply evil.

They see President Bush as a "true believer" of the sort described by the philosopher-longshoreman Erich Hoffer. They see our media as being managed by our government to mislead us for purposes of the ideology of a poorly educated minority. They don't yet see our government's actions as the will of a rational, well-informed electorate.

But I fear that may happen if we vote to give this president four more years.

The animosity toward Americans is established in the Middle East. Repairing the damage there will be very "hard work."

Old Europe believes that with Bush as president, it will be impossible.

Chris Kipfer

Steamboat Springs