<p>A positive and optimistic look at the Obama phenomenon from the Middle East:</p>
<p>Thomas Friedman in NYT op-ed
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th</a></p>
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<p>The whole article is worth a read.</p>
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<p>Spot on from my vantage point…</p>
<p>What a great piece!</p>
<p>I like the article. I’ve said several times that Obama would be a great president for this “flat” world, as Thomas Friedman calls it. He’s from a multi-cultural background who has lived abroad. </p>
<p>I think the old nationalistic views that existed from WWII through the Cold War won’t work in this global world.</p>
<p>It just shows you how superficial people in the middle east can be. They know little about Obama’s policies or how those policies would affect America and the rest of the world, yet they like his name and appearance. When American judge other Americans by their names, heritage, and color of their skin it is called racism. When people from the middle east do this it is called good. Sorry, but this piece of journalism is a non piece of journalism.</p>
<p>Agree with razorsharp.
Anytime that people start bad mouthing the US in terms of its race relations should remember how views like this are considered quite acceptable in other countries.</p>
<p>"It just shows you how superficial people in the middle east can be. They know little about Obama’s policies or how those policies would affect America and the rest of the world, yet they like his name and appearance. When American judge other Americans by their names, heritage, and color of their skin it is called racism. "</p>
<p>And if someone on the “wrong” side, says that Senator Obama is the preferred candidate of people in the Muslim world, that person is immediately attacked.</p>
<p>Well, he also seems to be the preferred candidate of Europeans.
Beyond his specific policies, Obama represents to the world the American ideal of inclusiveness. It may be a superficial reason for liking him, but it is an admirable quality of the US.</p>
<p>"Well, he also seems to be the preferred candidate of Europeans. "</p>
<p>Completely true and of democrats too! As long as we can all acknowledge those things, it’s good.</p>
<p>Europeans definitely prefer Obama:</p>
<p>[Free</a> Preview - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121295864168055409.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox]Free”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121295864168055409.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox)</p>
<p>Excerpt:</p>
<p>"A poll in late May of five major countries – Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia – showed Sen. Obama getting 52% support, compared with 15% for Sen. McCain. In France, 65% favor Sen. Obama, compared with 8% for Sen. McCain, according to the poll for the United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.</p>
<p>Another poll published online Saturday in Belgium’s Le Soir newspaper showed Belgians prefer Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain 74% to 12%.</p>
<p>“Belgians are rooting for Obama because, let’s face it, the guy knows what he’s talking about, especially compared to Bush,” says St</p>
<p>You cannot overestimate the degree to which people in other countries dislike Bush. It is not surprising that they like somebody who is running against him.</p>
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Got news for you, Bush isn’t running for President. Obama isn’t running against him.</p>
<p>I get asked all the time who I will vote for. I supported Clinton and told folks why. Most were o.k. with Clinton. Before that it was, what do you think of Bush? Duh! But there is a captivation with Obama. And actually little mention of McCain.</p>
<p>Funny thing, a few years ago Bush was the candidate supported by our Arab students. This was before 9/11. His father was definitely the candidate of choice even before that.</p>
<p>“Got news for you, Bush isn’t running for President. Obama isn’t running against him.”</p>
<p>My crystal ball tells me that McCain and all the other Republicans on Earth will be saying that Obama is running against Bush, if they aren’t saying it already.</p>
<p>All of Africa is watching this election closely as well. My husband was in Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana recently on business – he was asked about Obama everywhere he went.</p>
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<p>But if you squint just a little bit and the light hits just right…</p>
<p>edit: Obama getting elected would be a big deal temporarily abroad, but I don’t think it’d be long lived on it’s own. Which is to say after a year or so they’d start judging him based on his actual merits instead of “hey, it’s not Bush.” I’m not saying that means they will no longer like him, it’s just that by that point he’ll have had to give the rest of the world a reason to like him.</p>
<p>Oh, if Obama were by some miracle elected, the rest of the world would fall out of love with him, and even eventually feel “betrayed” by him. He’s already pi**ed off some in the arab world by saying, “Jerusalem must remain undivided!”. Once he establishes himself well and truly, as unequivocally pro-Israel, a lot of the world’s excited buzz about him will stop, and a lot of the arab world will call him a traitor to his Muslim heritage.:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Good point, Poet.</p>
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I don’t have the odds on me right now and can’t check them from work, but I’d be very surprised if Obama isn’t favored.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the world is pro Obama because a lot of the world wants to be pro-US–its idea of what is best about the US. It is about what he represents far more than anything he has said or done. Beneath the anti-Americanism, there is a sense of resilient affection that was sorely tested in the last 6-7 years but was there right after 9/11. The detested French were the ones then saying “Nous sommes tous Americains.” Obama’s presidency allows them to feel that way again, especially after their own confrontation with racial tensions (Most French people did not believe they existed and felt smugly superior to Americans on that front).</p>