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If the Whole World Voted for President |
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Amy Goodman likes to tell a story about a guest from Guyana on her show in 2006 who wanted a role in the U.S. Presidential elections.
One recent guest we had from Guyana was talking about globalization. As I moved onto another discussion, on the US elections, she said she wanted to be a part of that too. I asked “why?” She said, “The whole world should get to vote for the president of the United States.”
The basic argument is that the United States is so influential economically, culturally and militarily that people all over the planet are stakeholders in our politics.
A new Pew study (via McClatchy) indicates that if Amy Goodman got her wish, Barack Obama would win by a landslide.
People around the world who have been paying attention to the American election express more confidence in Barack Obama than in John McCain to do the right thing regarding world affairs. McCain is rated lower than Obama in every country surveyed, except for the United States where his rating matches Obama’s, as well as in Jordan and Pakistan where few people have confidence in either candidate.
McCain is hovering at Bush-like levels in Western Europe.
Obama’s advantage over McCain is overwhelming in the Western European countries surveyed: Fully 84% of the French who have been following the election say they have confidence in Obama to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared with 33% who say that about McCain. The differences in ratings for Obama and McCain are about as large in Spain and Germany, and are only somewhat narrower in Great Britain.
It isn’t just Europe though. Countries in Asia, Africa and South America also prefer Obama by a 20%+ margin.
The next President will face incredible challenges that will require international support and cooperation. Whether it is global warming, energy prices and food shortages or withdrawal from Iraq, nuclear proliferation and genocide, restoring America’s good standing in the world is an essential first step. In that context, Obama is ready to lead on day one, while McCain would be starting his Presidency with a severe handicap.
The Indonesian vote for McCain is really funny in an abstract way.
I cannot conceive of a right-thinking American voting for Obama.