It's interesting because I have observed the "perception of Bush supporters as intellectually and morally inferior" thing for a long time, even in myself on occasion. It's a largely subconscious thing. At the end of the day, Australians I think have a sense of moral right and wrong, based largely on egalitarianism, fairness and rule of law. What Bush is doing seems to contradict that on a continuing basis. I think the Iraq war and its aftermath has forever changed Australian perceptions of the US as an essentially moral and good country.

However, the sense of concern about the US long predates this. I think Australians - even many who would call themselves religious - really don't like open displays on the political stage of religious rhetoric. In the US itself, it's almost the other way around. Hence, messages aimed for a domestic audience within the US reach an international audience via an increasingly globalised world media, and irk us at some fundamental level with their "we're right because God's on our side" message. Even many Christians react to this as they see judging as God's job, definitely not that of a powerful military nation state's executive arm.