An interesting website, BetaVote tabulates straw votes for Bush and Kerry from around the world. Though unscientific, and distorted in its U.S. section by Bush unlovers, it provides a good sample of world thinking about the election.

The vision of a re-elected George W. Bush ruling the world does not sit well. Few non-Americans know anything about Kerry, but it looks that that hardly matters. He is popular everywhere abroad simply because he looks un-Bush.

Among 240 countries and 419,128 global respondents, Kerry leads Bush by 88% to 11%. Here is a snap shot of the results in some of the Arab countries:

Morocco John Kerry leads by 87%
Syrian Arab Republic John Kerry leads by 79%
Egypt John Kerry leads by 77%
Sudan John Kerry leads by 75%
Oman John Kerry leads by 65%
Somalia John Kerry leads by 65%
United Arab Emirates John Kerry leads by 55%
Qatar John Kerry leads by 53%
Tunisia John Kerry leads by 53%
Jordan John Kerry leads by 51%
Saudi Arabia John Kerry leads by 49%
Bahrain John Kerry leads by 45%
Algeria John Kerry leads by 41%
Yemen John Kerry leads by 31%
Lebanon John Kerry leads by 27%
Palestinian John Kerry leads by 23%
Kuwait John Kerry leads by 17%

Oddly, Bush and Kerry are tied, in Libya, Iraq and Mauritania. They are tied also in other countries like, North Korea, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Cocos (keeling) Islands, Comoros, Congo, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, and Niue, wherever that is.

In Brazil, Kerry leads by 91%; by 79% in Italy; 91% in France; 71% in India; 77% in Japan; 89% in Germany; 81% in Britain; 17% in Israel; 61% in Nigeria.

Bush lead Only in the Niger by 63% and Liechtenstein by 11%.

What deeply alarms many non-Americans is the prospect of a second Bush term dominated by a coalition of evangelical Christians, Christian “Rapturists,” American partisans of Israel’s PM Ariel Sharon, and rural voters from the Deep South who reject evolution and think French is the native language of Satan.

Many Catholics will vote against Kerry on their bishops’ orders. Many American supporters of Greater Israel, who shape U.S. foreign policy these days, believe they are fulfilling God’s commands. The 41% of Americans calling themselves born-again Christians are being whipped into a pro-Bush frenzy by many of their preachers. So much for separation of church and state.

America’s fastest-growing cult, the Rapturists, believe once Greater Israel is created and all Jews converted to Christianity, they will be instantly transported to heaven while the world will be destroyed and all non-believers slowly burned alive.

Their unofficial bible, the Left Behind series of books, has sold nearly 60 million copies. They are Bush’s most ardent supporters.

Surveys found that more educated Americans back Kerry, while Bush speaks for those who love his folksy ways, mangled English, jingoism and religious pretensions.

However, a president who says he communicates with God regularly and claims to be on a “divine mission” makes the world very uneasy.

Who will the Lord order Bush to “liberate” next? Iran and Syria? Sinful France, with its cigarettes, wine and wild sex? Lefty Canadians with all that water and oil? Or the Chinese, who reject Christian values and work too cheap?

Add to the Bush vote the 20% of Americans who believe Elvis is still alive, and you end up with an unbeatable majority.

It’s unfair the whole world cannot somehow vote in the upcoming U.S., elections since they affect all mankind. Maybe the rest of the world could vote and count as one U.S. state, Internationalia. However, if this happened, the result would be a landslide for John Kerry.