The Great Reaction; Europe Balks at the Intrusion of Globalization

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Byline: Tony Blankley, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Everyone agrees that the French referendum on Sunday that rejected the proposed European Union constitution by 55 percent was a big event. But how big, for what reason and whither it points Europe remains enclouded by a storm of ideological hopes and projections.

After every major election, its meaning is immediately subject to mixed explanations. After our 2004 presidential elections, President Bush's victory was attributed to the gay marriage issue, Karl Rove's amazing get-out-the-vote mechanism, Sen. John Kerry's ineffective campaign, the public's disinclination to change horses during a war, Democratic Party urban secularism, rebounding jobs, Swiftboat Vets for Truth, the sheer likability of George W. Bush, the sheer unlikability of John Kerry and every …