The Second Vote

Nothing in recent American politics has been followed in Europe as obsessively as the Democratic primary. Barack Obama's victory has been universally greeted with the same gesture. Two hands are pointed together in prayer. Please, please let it be true, let him be president. Polls have yet to appear, but I imagine Obama beats John McCain by a factor of ninety-nine to one in the global electorate.

It is hard for Americans to appreciate the sheer, bruising weariness of being a pro-American abroad this past decade, for reasons that need no enumerating. As a result it is impossible to exaggerate the impact that an Obama presidency would have. To every cry of hatred against America, to every antagonism, every complaint, every sneer, Barack Obama is an instant, one-man rebuttal.

He has acquired the status of total image salve. His mere smile flashes round the world a promise of a new America. There is no point is protesting the implausibility of much of this, the danger of unrealistic hopes and unfulfillable dreams. It is plain fact. At this stage, image is all.

Say this to many Americans and they reply, what has it to do with you? Our president is our business. The answer is that Americans have not one vote but two. One is for the USA, the other is held in proxy for the rest of the world. It is a vote for Iraqis, Israelis, Afghans, Somalis, for European merchants, African farmers, Chinese industrialists, Latin American drug lords, bankers, lawyers and internet users.

Every country on Earth is ruled in some sense by America. Almost all are disenfranchised. Some aspect of their lives - perhaps whether they live at all - depends on a franchise enjoyed by a select minority, Americans. When a president claims to speak "for the west" or "for the free world", that world replies, by whose consent? Who asked us? We are expected just to wait on tenterhooks to see whether "our" candidate wins.

That is why I plead with American friends to think not just who is best for America but who is best for the wider cosmopolis to which American presidents, for better or worse, claim to lead. This week there has been no doubt. It really does not matter what Obama says or does. It matters only what his candidature has come to represent. He would transform the standing and moral authority of a nation that seems to revel in being disliked by others and, I sense lately, even by itself. He is already a global phenomenon.

Comments

[wwstaebler]

I spent several months in the Canadian Maritimes last year.
Although I was personally welcomed and included in everything, as an American I was also fair game. Whether it was the local postmistress or twenty people at a party, everyone I met took me to task for my government's decisions. The irony, of course, was that their disapproval of our president echoed my own.
Never mind. The discussions were as forthright as they were intense; through them I learned, not only how negatively we are perceived elsewhere, but also -- and this was a shocking realization to me -- how incredibly self-editing Americans had become during the Bush/Cheney years, as if Big Brother was listening in and there might be hell to pay.
I love my country and want it to be all that it can be. Because I also love Canada and Canadians, I look forward to the day when we may celebrate, together, Obama's change that we can all believe in.

[laire]

Great article, I was in Morrocco when the Abu- jail things were going on and so many Arabs would ask me who I was voting for in the next election. They would say what is wrong with America and all I could say was our country is run by corprate thugs!

[crossoverwriter]

Good post ,Jenkins!
Keep up the good work.
It's more of a post-national world than we think of it on a daily basis.

[skibum49]

Just to put a bit of statistical perspective in this discussion. In a May 2008 telephone poll of the citizens of the five largest countries in Europe (including Russia) the following results were obtained:

Choice for President: Overall 52 percent of those surveyed supported Obama with 15 percent supporting Senator McCain. The other 33 percent fell into the catagory of "don't know don't care don't bother me!" (europeans are not as big on polls as Americans plus they generally are more reluctant to want to stick their noses into other peoples business which accounts for the relatively large number of people who didn't choose to participate)

In Italy 70 percent supported Obama McCain 15 percent
In Germany 67 percent supported Obama McCain 6 percent
In France 65 percent supported Obama McCain 8 percent
In the UK 49 percent supported Obama McCain 14 percent
In Russia 31 percent supported Obama and McCain got his highest percentage of support at 24

Another interesting question that the poll asked was "Do you think that the United States is overall a force for good or force for evil in today's world?"

Overall 27 percent believed that we were a force for good and 43 percent considered us a force for evil. The remaining 30 percent did not wish to respond.

No matter who wins in November its clear that we have a real PR problem in Europe.

[BigRube]

Does the msm know about this? The media would absolutly die if they knew this.

[PatrickforO]

No they wouldn't. Our mass media is generally very ignorant and provincial.

[reddogdee]

Oh God, sorry I have to use his name in vain, but I'm RMAOTFL !

[adzeman]

It is true. I have a network of friends around the world. The animosity to the US and its policy is breathtaking. It transcends left/right politics. Most consider our government evil.
Obama is seen as hope to the world, McCain as continuing the spiral.

[Cathexis]

The harsh reality is: For the past 7 years or so, our government HAS been evil! Incredibly so!

That is why I maintain that, while getting Obama in will be a welcome relief, we will not really get back on a good path (and regain our standing in the world) unless/until we acknowledge the past 8 years or so of evil and repudiate it.

Impeach.
Indict.
Incarcerate.

[Rumplestiltskin]

Maybe we should just let the United Nations run the US. As an effective body governing international relations they could act in the world's interests in governing the US.

[adzeman]

I like them to come in and oversee the process to keep GOP thugs from disenfranchising voters and cheating.

[BigRube]

Damn that was good. Very good.

[LeviCro]

He IS the man we need.. I almost feel like a foreign person here during the last 8 years as bush turned this country into something it was never meant to be..... this is no longer "my" America......
Im not a person who "hates"... its a dark force inside of you that you never want... and yet the presence of what I have little other description of except to call it evil in the whitehouse has given me much grief and anxiety.. my hands are together.. and I too am going... PLEASE.. let it be TRUE... Let Obama be president.. he is the one to start the healing.. turn us from the dark paths and return us to what we were meant to be.....

[BigRube]

Amen.

[druidlady42]

My daughter and I share your feelings! She has always been exceptionally perceptive, i.e. "in tune" with feelings and forces most people don't detect. She said that when Bush took office in 2000, she felt an ominous dark cloud descending on this country, cried for two days, and shuddered when she told me, "Mom, they're EVIL! She knew then what the rest of us found out too late!

"turn us from the dark paths and return us to what we were meant to be....."

I hope and pray that we Americans choose more wisely this time!

[SeaBlood]

BushCo messed up so badly that the USA needs to "reboot" to get rid of all the junk that W deposited on our collective "hard drive". An Obama presidency, whether he turns out to be a wonderkind or not, would help wipe our Karma clean. Then, if we need, we can start all over afresh.

[returnofthejedi]

Our country's reputation and intrests have been held hostage, by a criminal organization of religious
zealots. Tyrants have been given the keys to the country. We as the voters should do our best to keep criminal organizations from taking over our government. Obama 08.

[kfdan]

After Bush anyone with a positive message brings smiles to the faces of people all over the world! If you live in the States, it's hard to imagine how despised the present U.S. regime is ... Obama does bring hope to many!

[kellygrrrl]

Thank You Simon!

Yes, the current Administration has turned US into some tragic monster
Isolate Self-Hating Giant

Let US hope that America is ready to put that phase behind and embrace the Globe

[marymansour]

Thank you, Mr. Rosen, for expressing my own dreams and wishes for my country. I lived in the Middle East at a time when people around the world still respected America. I am so hopeful that a special young man named Barack Obama will bring this back. I am a devoted Obama fan and voter since 2004. I am very conscious of our image abroad. We need a new one and Obama is the perfect man to give it to us.

[OhCanada]

Even up north here in Canada we watched in disbelief as you put Dubya back in the white house. I couldn't believe it. I follow US politics more than most americans and I am stunned at how little the issues actually matter in an election. You want your presidents to appear superhuman when, in fact, you should see them as human being that is being chosen to get off his or her ass and fix their country. In Canada, the character of the person is merely one factor alongside the many issues that are put forth. For example, I am a big supporter of Obama but I think Hillary's healthcare plan is much better than Barack's. See how I managed to do that without blindly going crazy on one side or another??.....

[LeviCro]

you think YOU were stunned? I gave serious consideration to moving to Canada.. or ANYWHERE the people are not so foolish to be bought by tax cuts and fake dogma..... too many of us were played for fools.. and we were buying.. I say we.. though I NEVER voted for bush.. I sensed he was evil right out the gate... there are some here who think that evil has such a hold on the US that our elections are no longer fair and that their votes no longer count..... to all of them.. I BEG you to vote in this election!... can you really take the chance that your one vote will be the one that turned the tide?

[NorCalNative]

Simon, thank you for your insight. I'm of the camp that our international relations are just as important as our domestic ones in a global world. These relations were not the primary reason why I chose to support Obama in the February California Primary election, but it was a close second.

[booksnmore4you]

As someone who has live and worked abroad in Latin American, Asia-Pacific, and the Caribbean, let me add my voice as loud as I can to Jenkins's.