Elections improve US image abroad

Here's me waving hello from the beach at La Turballe. I love Brittany in June - perfect weather and empty coastline. I'm posting to share a good story I ran across on Digg the other day:

Democratic Primary Boosts U.S. Image Around the World


I can confirm the gist of the article. We've been somewhat startled and amused by the sheer intensity of the British and European fascination with the events of this election - Every tiny event has been headline news across France and the UK. There's a sense of hope and optimism that is positively tangible - No great surprise after the global disaster that the Bush presidency has been. On a personal level, I probably speak for a lot of US expats when I say what a huge relief it will be to no longer have to introduce ourselves at parties with, "Hi, I'm American, but please don't hate me, I didn't vote for Bush". It makes me a bit warm and sentimental to watch the sheer enthusiasm abroad over the possibility that the US may turn itself around on some of the policies that have made us international pariahs these past years. And I love the quotes from the article:

"The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African American as its president," said Minoru Morita, a Tokyo political analyst.

"I think it will be put down as a shining, historical moment in the history of America," said Fumiaki Kubo, a professor at Tokyo University.

"Obama is the exciting image of what we always hoped America was," said Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, a London think tank. (Of course, he's probably also the presidential candidate most likely to be assassinated since Kennedy....)

"Germany is Obama country," said Karsten Voight, the German government's coordinator for German-North American cooperation. "He seems to strike a chord with average Germans," who see him as a transformational figure like John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr. (*Cough*, see comment above)

For my own part, I'm pretty much happy with all three nominees, though it now seems Hillary may be out for good. I do believe that come November, regardless of who ends up in the oval office, the US may find the rest of the world is a much more welcoming place.