With seven months left before November, Americans may already be growing weary of this year’s presidential contest. But people in Africa, Asia, Europe and the rest of the world are avidly following the ups and downs of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, international experts say.
“The rest of the world is watching very closely,” said Ahmad Ghoreishi, one of the participants in today’s Conference on World Affairs panel titled “If the Rest of the World Could Vote for U.S. President …”
And much of that interest is focused on Obama, said Ghoreishi, professor emeritus in the department of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
Obama’s background, including a childhood spent partly in Indonesia, has drawn intense interest from observers in Africa and also southeast Asia, Ghoreishi said.
“The world is fascinated by him — by a first-generation black man running for president,” Ghoreishi said. “When it comes down to it, the vast majority of people don’t think Americans will do it — once they’re in the voting booth, they won’t vote for a black man.”
Panelist S. Azmat Hassan, a former Pakistani diplomat who now serves at the John C. Whitehead School of Public Diplomacy, said he thinks the rest of the world is watching closely to see where the election takes America’s foreign policy. The past eight years have opened a dramatic rift between the United States and other countries, he said.
“U.S. standing is at its lowest ebb,” he said. “It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it, and I’ve been around fora while.”
In Hassan’s view, a McCain presidency wouldn’t be likely to change that. But a Democratic president could, he said. He said observers around the world wonder whether Obama can translate idealistic stances into concrete policies that will make progress on seemingly intractable problems like AIDS, terrorism and climate change.
“The energy, the idealism is there,” he said. “The question is, can it be put to practical use to bring about change?”
Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at 303-473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com.
No, actually most people in the world have no idea that there even is a black man running for President of the United States. Most of the world has no idea and couldn’t care less what happens in our domestic politics.
And it’s only in America that people are foolish enough to think that Obama or any US president is going to change anything. The rest of the world clearly understands that our system of plutocracy is just like that in every other country in the world and will continue unabated no matter which puppet the US electoral college endorses this time around. Most people in the world couldn’t even name the president of the united states much less describe the difference between a republican and democrat (not to suggest that there is any.)
I have just stated some facts.
my_sand_in_your_puss
4/11/2008 1:31:19 AM
“U.S. standing is at its lowest ebb,” he said. “It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it, and I’ve been around fora while.”
Yes, if we let dictators slaughter their people they like us. If we let terrorists have their way they like it. Isn’t it just horrible that we are not for terrorists and dictators? The peoples in most countries run by terrorist thugs and dictators don’t look like us so it’s OK that they are put through meat grinders, alive, and rape rooms, when they annoy their beloved leader.
The U.S. is hated so much that it’s still the country where the people of the world want to live. May even break in illegally to come here. It must be a terrible place with terrible policies.
EnlightenedProf
4/11/2008 5:59:12 AM
EnlightenedProf,
The U.S. government acting through the C.I.A., supports dictators and terrorists throughout the world and has done so for a very long time. You need to see a proctologist and have your head examined.
brian@briansmusic.com
4/11/2008 12:53:05 PM
“U.S. standing is at its lowest ebb,” he said. “It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it, and I’ve been around for awhile.”
In Hassan’s view, a McCain presidency wouldn’t be likely to change that. But a Democratic president could, he said.
—
Of course liberals around the world would love to see Obama win. It has nothing to do with his race or background though.
bobcat77
4/11/2008 6:34:45 PM
“You need to see a proctologist and have your head examined.”
Your only argument is not very powerful. I’m sorry for you. Try again!
EnlightenedProf
4/11/2008 9:03:41 PM
“When it comes down to it, the vast majority of people don’t think Americans will do it — once they’re in the voting booth, they won’t vote for a black man.”
This is precisely why we need more gubmit intervention in our voting process.
We already have a plethora of hate crimes and anti-semetic laws on the books. The next step is to ensure that voters won’t weaken and give in to their prejudices and fail to pull the lever for a black man by having poll monitors accompany people into the booth and see to it that they vote accordingly.
driveby_poster
4/11/2008 9:45:22 PM
