Best question asked yet about us and Iraq: "Would You Follow the Country That Bungled Iraq?"

Oddly, that question is the subheadline to Anne Applebaum's Why They Don't Like Us in Tuesday's Washington Post.

This last point strikes me as most interesting: For in fact, it indicates that what our closest friends really dislike is not our traditional pushiness, our violent movies or even our current president (though they don't like him much) but our incompetence. A full third blame the perceived decline of the transatlantic alliance on the "mismanagement of Iraq." Not the invasion of Iraq, the "mismanagement" of Iraq. Which makes sense: If you're really worried about Iran, do you want to put your faith in the United States, the country that bungled Iraq? If you really care about Islamic fundamentalism, do you want to be led by the country that, distracted by Iraq, failed to predict the return of the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan?

Who of the current crop of presidential nominees seems most likely to instill competence into our leadership?