By Andrew L. Jaffee

Isn’t it gratifying to know that the U.S. is now viewed as the second most negative influence on the world, second only to Iran, according to a poll conducted by the BBC World Service? 39,435 people in 33 countries were interviewed. The survey had a margin of error of 2.5% - 4%.

All intended sarcasm aside, the fact the humans are waking up to the serious threat Iran poses is good news. After all, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged that Israel be “wiped off the map,” has denied that the Holocaust ever occurred, called for Israel’s Jews to be moved to Europe (ethnically cleansed), and has planned to host a conference to “prove” that Hitler’s extermination of Jews (and gypsies and gays) was a “myth.”

Just as frightening is the fact that Ahmadinejad views himself as the “Mahdaviat:” the “rightly-guided one” who will be “the restorer of religion and justice who will rule before the end of the world.” He believes this as his radical Muslim theocracy pursues nuclear weapons technology.

From to the Beeb:

According to the poll, no country had a majority with a positive view of Iran’s role in the world, apart from the Iranians themselves.

On average, just 18% say Iran has a positive influence, while 47% believe the state’s role is negative.

Europe and North America have the largest majorities expressing a negative view - with Germany, the US and Italy the most negative about Iran.

But there’s always a big “but:”

The US has lost ground in some key allied countries, the survey suggests.

In France, 65% had a negative view of the US, up from 54% in the 2004 poll. In Britain the numbers went from 50% to 57%.

Negative views of the US are also up by 20 points in China, eight points in Australia and nine points in Brazil.

America: The land of the free, home of the brave; where immigrants flock; where you can get a fair trial, judged by your peers; where free information flows; where entrepreneurs have easy access to capital; where grievances are sorted out in the press, courts, and in local, state, and federal legislatures; and the world’s largest foreign aid donor is viewed as the second most negative influence on the world?

We’ll just have to take the good news with the bad.