When it comes to measuring support for the US abroad, the Bush administration keeps selecting different metrics.

Back in 2003, the White House was caught exaggerating the size of the coalition that overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq by including tiny countries that were not active military contributors:

The administration asserts that 44 nations are part of the coalition. But officials reach that number by lumping nations providing military units or logistical assistance with an eclectic group of nations — such as Afghanistan,
Eritrea, Honduras, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands and Uzbekistan — that are only voicing political support.

On Meet the Press today, however, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took the opposite approach, pointing to support for the US among the large populations of India and China to deemphasize the fact that the citizens of many countries do not view the US favorably (my emphasis):

MR. GREGORY: Eight years later, seven years later after that, do you think that the world views the United States as a humble nation?

SEC’Y RICE: I certainly think the United States views the—that the world views the United States as a place to be respected. All over the world, David, our values are respected; who we are, a place that you can come and come from modest circumstances to great things, that’s respected. What we’ve done hasn’t always been liked or popular. But if you look at some of the most populous places in the world—China, India—the United States is not only respected but, in fact, popular. So yes, there are some places that have had real quarrels with our policies, but, but I think the United States is very well-respected worldwide.

It’s also not clear that the US is “popular” in China — the latest Pew Global Attitudes Poll found that only 41% of Chinese have a favorable view of the US.