It wouldn't surprise me at all if Central & Eastern European states made notice of their support. Although most of these countries are rushing towards EU membership, they realize what Western Europe thinks of them--as little more than close colonies, to be toyed with for years to come. If we ever thought the UN meant endless negotiations, you should see what everyone east of Vienna is putting up with in dealing with the EU.

Other reasons why this region will become more important:

1. It's huge (comparatively to Western Europe). Take a look at the size of Poland, for instance.

2. The governments, nor the people, are not nearly as knee-jerk liberal as say, the Netherlands.

3. These countries are on the move. They are educated, they have excess capacity, and in general, they like America.

Western Europe should be scared of these countries...the pension-state that's being created in Brussels and Strasbourg will eventually crash, and Eastern Europe will then be hitting its peak. If these countries have to choose between the EU and NATO, that's not good news for the Europeans.

Haven't played that song in years. Thanks for the memories.

To echo Joe Baby:

What are the demographics in Eastern Europe? I would suspect (but cannot be sure) that their societies are actually probably younger (baby booms after wars and all that). So, if they can avoid going down the Western EUropean social welfare trap, they might have more vibrant economies in about ten years.

As for Asia, it is hardly surprising that these folks have a MUCH better view of the US.

First, they understand that the world is STILL a scary place.
Second, it is the US that guarantees their security from Communist dictatorships (NK), hulking regional powers (China), historical aggressors (Japan), and local instability (Philippines, Indonesia).
Third, these guys recognize that good economies depend on free trade (as the VP noted in his excerpt). While Western Europe is busily preparing to implement de facto tariffs and protectionism, Asia figures that its future lies in technological innovation and continued exports (and imports to improve their lives). Guess whom I would be on over the longer-haul?
Fourth, there's not much in the way of the namby-pamby social democrats in East Asia. While not everyone is a screamin' Tory or conservative, the region as a whole is a heckuva lot more conservative, socially, politically, temperamentally, than Europe. AND they believe in capitalism.

But don't all countries love the US so long as there's a more ominous threat nearby? (Namely China, when it comes to the far east)

In the Far East, the folks love us for reasons OTHER than China as well.

Unlike Europe, there remain outstanding border issues which remain unresolved. (In Europe, the Helsinkini Agreement of the 1970s, for all of its toothlessness, DID resolve national borders once and for all.) So, states constantly fear that there might be an attempt to "rectify" borders. (Singapore-Malaysia, Malaysia-Indonesia, Japan-South Korea all come to mind)

Then, there's the 200-pound gorilla of Japan. Which has never really apologized for World War II behavior. You might think that's petty, but then, imagine if the Germans had never said that slaughtering Jews was a bad thing, and you kinda get a different picture. The expansion of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' roles in the War on Terror has NOT gone unnoticed.

Finally, the US stands for more than pure nat'l self-interest, Liberals be damned. When the US negotiates positions on free trade, frex, it is NOT just for the benefit of US companies, or even in a purely bilateral sense. It benefits everyone who wants to be part of that approach. (Witness, frex, the opening up of Japan's retail markets in the 1980s---it benefited Toys R Us, but it COULD help French and German firms, if they wanna go in, as well.) This is in stark contrast to, say, EU negotiations, where they are aimed to benefit the EU, and the rest of world can go fly a kite.

Folks notice this kind of thing, even if Liberals/Leftists don't.