As John said, I think a similar poll would have shown both Kerry and Gore (and Clinton, and Kucinich, and Carter, and…and…and…) to be inspirational to The World.
That said, I think one of the strong reasons I personally may vote for Obama is that I think he would improve America’s image abroad…even if he does nothing different than Bush did. Mind, I expect he WILL do things different…but I seriously think that The World would accept them from Obama without nearly the same level of screeching.
The other side of the coin though, as a voting US citizen, is…I really don’t care what other people in other countries think of who we should or shouldn’t vote for. I wouldn’t let that influence me in any way, shape or form. It’s interesting that they favor Obama, to be sure…but in the end, so what? I’ll vote for him or not based on my own opinion…and he’ll be elected or not based on the collective opinions of those who bother to go out and vote.
And it should be noted that nothing in the survey indicates that Obama “inspires the world”. People were simply asked if they had confidence that Obama or McCain would do the right thing wrt world affairs. More said they had some or a lot of confidence that Obama would. If anything, it shows that Obama does not inspire the world, since most of his votes were in the “some confidence” rather than the “lot of confidence” column. You see a lot of single digits for “lot of confidence”, with only 3 countries breaking the 20% barrier: The US (21%), Germany (24%), and Tanzania (33%). Oh, and don’t forget Poland, coming in at 3%.
Interestingly, Hillary’s numbers were a bit less than Obama’s, and considerably more than McCain. Should we conclude that Hillary “inspires the world”?
Hmm. I had the impression that they liked Bush I just fine. He certainly got people lined up in support of Gulf War I, and my impression was that he personally conducted a lot of that diplomacy.
I don’t think that this showed that the world loved Bush I so much…simply that he was better at rallying support through diplomacy. Even Bush II gets some measure of support after all. This doesn’t show love of Bush so much as respect for the US.
Horses for courses I suppose. Most of the people I know feel that Obama is all style and no substance. There’s a lot of eloquence about “change” but little or no details.
Do you seriously believe that the 84% (or, for that matter, even 54%) of those polled have the faintest idea what those two empty suits running for US President stand for?
PS: Please take those BHO groupie tinted glasses off your nose. They don’t become you.
Which is funny because before McCain started running for president, and when he was still critical of Bush (before the surge), he was talking about how important it was for America to listen to the rest of the world and rebuild its battered image abroad.
It’s a shame for him that part of the rehabilitation of the US’ image abroad might require his loss in the general election.
This is coming from a former McCain supporter, too. I am not an Obama worshiper. I know he’s going to let me down from time to time, but the prospect of having Obama as president after eight years of Bush doing everything in his power to sully our image abroad does give me hope (yes, hope) for the future.
Living and traveling abroad, I’ve been amazed by the almost palpable desire the people I meet around the world express to me about the possibility of an Obama presidency. It is amazing and uplifting. I’m not talking about a passive support, but a genuine excitement about the prospect.
And this is in Asia. I can only imagine what it’s like in Europe right now. I was living in Europe just before the last elections, and the prospects of a Kerry presidency did not seem to inspire the same feelings I’m seeing Obama’s candidacy bring about.
Chalk that up to the last four years of Bush since the 2004 elections or to the fact that Obama really is particular, or both.
No American should change his or her vote because of international opinion alone, but the perspectives of those outside the US should be significant part of the decision, especially right now.
Most people where I come from too (South Carolina), but that’s because they don’t want to like him. They watch snippets of speeches on the nightly news and say, “Look, all he said was ‘yes we can.’” They don’t watch whole speeches and they’ve never bothered to actually read about Obama’s foreign, economic, and domestic policy ideas.
This, of course, doesn’t encompass all of the people who think Obama’s all style (certainly, some democrats think so too), but I’d bet the large majority of those people are like the people I know at home.
Again, Obama’s not going to save the world, but to say he’s all style is disingenuous, I think.
I think we must accept that we are part of a global community and we must be concerned to some degree with how our neighbors and economic partners see us. Of course the welfare and security of our own citizens is our number one priority but our relationship with other nations directly effect that.
Please ask them what efforts they’ve made to actually examine the issues and his stance on them. Watching pundits who are paid to have certain opinions and spin them a certain way doesn’t count.
How much effort would it take to know he’s critical of Bush’s policies and against the war in Iraq? Watching the news once? I think for lots of people that’s all it takes.
It’s likely true that an historic election of a black man or a woman in the USA makes people feel a little more hopeful as well. It shows a shift in consciousness of the majority of the public. If the most powerful nation in the world can actually make this happen that’s bound to affect others.
Might also be interesting to ask those in other countries who find Obama so inspiring which of his positions affect them so strongly.
Reading the article seems to give the impression that many abroad believe that the US influence will change for the better after the election without regard to who wins. Sort of the flip side of “Anybody but Bush” - neither McCain nor Obama are Bush.
Overall, I get the impression that this survey was asking if the US economy was dragging down the global economy, and those who believed it is therefore tended to believe that therefore the US was bad for the world overall. And also to believe it would be better after the election. Which is probably true, although more in a post hoc ergo propter hoc way. If we are in a recession currently, it is likely to be over by the end of the year, and therefore the next President will inherit an economy coming out of recession the way Bush and Clinton did. Which, no doubt, will be spun in his favor in the media here and abroad.
I was rooting for McCain in 2000. He seems much different now. I appreciate the realistic take on Obama. I think what some people see as Obama worship {which does exist to some degree} is often an expression of hope. I’m willing to give Obama his opportunity out of the hope that he is true to his words, but I accept the responsibility as a citizen to continue to pay attention and make my voice heard if he doesn’t.
The world is in a worrisome place right now with economic woes and the threat of an expanding war. I think many world citizens see Bush and the US as a big part of the problem and hope a new direction from us means better things for them as well.
I’ve heard several people comment on Obama, “He’s going to ruin this country” and I resist the impulse to say “Where have you lived the past eight years?”
Do they seriously think Obama will be much worse than Bush? Fortunately I see republican conservatives also growing weary and irritated at the dishonest talking points technique. They want honest debate where both sides listen to the other and the goal is mutual progress rather than personal victory.
I understand the objection to a move toward what they see as socialism but we have to make our choices and our progress one step at a time. If we can make a move toward taking the big money and lobbyist influence out of Washington then an honest debate between good conservatives and liberals can take place. That’s got a better chance of happening with Obama at the helm IMO. I’d note that it requires continued involvement and input from we the citizens.
read my post right above yours. Your point is what exactly?
And of those two which candidate is seen as most likely to embrace policies and attitudes similar to Bush. McCain by a long shot correct?
Did you get the impression that citizens in other countries are not concerned about the war in the ME and the potential it’s expansion? I’d say the amount of protests Bush gets when he travels abroad indicates otherwise.
One of the most poignant moments to me in these elections was one night at dinner, when my father and I were talking politics. My father thinks Ronald Reagan hung the moon, and I’ve never heard him say a good thing about a democrat in Washington (local politics is different). He watches FOX news and seemed truly sad the day that William F. Buckley, Jr. died.
That night talking about the elections, he said, “You know. I don’t think Obama’s too bad. I’m not going to vote for him, but I won’t be let down if he’s elected.” I could never think of him saying that about another democrat.
I actually know several Obamicans who are going to vote for Obama, and that, I find, is something worth noting.
