What will John Kerry's election mean to Americans living in Japan? =A0 The obvious answer is straightforward, a feeling of immense relief.=A0It=20= will be simply and truly wonderful not having to cringe every time a=20 Japanese or European friend mentions the Bush administration and asks=20 about its arbitrarily walking away from international treaties, the=20 missing weapons of mass destruction, the missing link between Iraq and=20= Al Qaeda, the pictures from Abu Ghraib, the memos from administration=20 lawyers claiming that the President may authorize torture and decide=20 arbitrarily who is or is not an "enemy combatant," or-from the business=20= minded-the fiscal insanity that is putting the whole global economy at=20= risk. Along with that relief, there will also be a feeling of hope. John=20 Kerry is an internationalist and an advocate of free trade. He has also=20= been a staunch defender of the natural environment and a vigorous=20 advocate for ending both US and global dependence on the world's=20 dwindling petroleum resources. Women will rest assured that this=20 President will be a staunch defender of reproductive rights and very=20 unlikely, indeed, to appoint Supreme Court or other Federal judges who=20= would threaten those rights. Educators will know that this President=20 will not cynically support a program named "Leave No Child Behind,"=20 brag about it in his campaign speeches, then deliberately cut the=20 funding for it, leaving schools facing new demands without the=20 resources to meet them and forcing school districts to seek increases=20 in property taxes or cut other programs. Military personnel will know that John Kerry won't wrap himself in the=20= flag, waste taxpayers' money on carrier landing publicity stunts to=20 announce the end of an unended war, accuse his opponents of failing to=20= support the troops-then turn around and slash veterans' benefits. They=20= may recognize, too, that here is a genuine hero, who went deliberately=20= in harm's way to save the life of a soldier for whom he felt=20 responsible, and a man with the good sense to recognize when a war has=20= gone wrong and speak out against it. ("Treason!" shout his enemies.=20 "Tell it to Generals Clark, McPeak, Odom, and Zinni," say his friends.) Members of the business community will also have reason for optimism.=20 Instead of an administration with ideological blindfolds and a=20 President Bush described by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill as=20 impervious to rational argument, even from members of his own party-the=20= deaf leading the blind-they will, instead, be able to work with a=20 thoughtful pragmatist. President Kerry will know the difference between=20= strong convictions tempered by awareness of changing realities and=20 blind faith in divine election. We should not look for radical changes in trade or security policy=20 vis-_-vis Japan, say Washington insiders. What we should expect is more=20= attention to economic and trade issues, a more engaged posture, and=20 tougher stance toward currency manipulations, an issue in dealing with=20= China as well as Japan. There will also be greater willingness to=20 engage in bilateral negotiations with North Korea as well as continued=20= participation in the current six-nation process. Make no mistake about it: the problems that face the world=20 today-terrorism, ethnic conflict, genocide, epidemic disease,=20 environmental destruction, depleted resources, and the awful poverty=20 that affects more than half of humanity-will not go away on the day=20 that John Kerry is inaugurated as America's forty-fourth president. But=20= Americans living in Japan will, like people everywhere, enjoy a=20 rekindled hope-the hope that America will, indeed, "be America again." =A0 John L. McCreery International Vice Chair Democrats Abroad =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 1 =A0 =A0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html