The man's got world-wide appeal:
He may not have enough foreign policy experience, but he does have the edge in international celebrity.
There's a good deal of anti-American sentiment abroad (I don't mean here, in particular. In general). People say the same thing. They like Americans once they get to know them, but they still don't like America and its leaders.
Flying home from Beijing last winter, I sat next to a Mongolian man travelling to Canada. When he found out I was from America, his jaw dropped and he said, "Aren't you scared?". He was referring to America's lack of gun control laws. It was a situation he viewed as completely archaic, and representative, in his eyes, of our slide downward as a country. While not all Americans are the gun-toting, speed-racing highway robbers he imagined-- if this is what foreigners envision, it is time for us to flip things around.
There's nothing Bush can do to gain favor abroad, at this point. By the same token, unless Obama makes a huge mistake as President, it won't be easy for him to tarnish his image. People across all continents are raving about Obama. The "stardom" contest currently underway on the campaign trail in the U.S. probably isn't the best way to select a leader. But why not use Obama's star power abroad to our advantage?
He may not have enough foreign policy experience, but he does have the edge in international celebrity.
There's a good deal of anti-American sentiment abroad (I don't mean here, in particular. In general). People say the same thing. They like Americans once they get to know them, but they still don't like America and its leaders.
Flying home from Beijing last winter, I sat next to a Mongolian man travelling to Canada. When he found out I was from America, his jaw dropped and he said, "Aren't you scared?". He was referring to America's lack of gun control laws. It was a situation he viewed as completely archaic, and representative, in his eyes, of our slide downward as a country. While not all Americans are the gun-toting, speed-racing highway robbers he imagined-- if this is what foreigners envision, it is time for us to flip things around.
There's nothing Bush can do to gain favor abroad, at this point. By the same token, unless Obama makes a huge mistake as President, it won't be easy for him to tarnish his image. People across all continents are raving about Obama. The "stardom" contest currently underway on the campaign trail in the U.S. probably isn't the best way to select a leader. But why not use Obama's star power abroad to our advantage?
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