America and the world into a new era

America and the world into a new era


THE United States elects a president in two months. The whole world is watching because whoever is victorious will be the leader of not just of US but the world. Africans, Asians, Europeans and Latin Americans -- unhappy with the Bush administration's eight years -- all have a stake in the election's outcome. But they'll discover that whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain is the next US president, his foreign policies may not often be in concert with global public opinion.

Obama is the favourite of people outside US. But only Americans get to vote. And Republican John McCain stands a good chance of winning the election. Those abroad wishing to see an Obama presidency would do well to remember that the American people share many of McCain's hawkish foreign policy views.

Sure, the next US president will enjoy a honeymoon of goodwill around the world because he is not George W. Bush. But whether Obama or McCain sits in the White House next year, that honeymoon could be short lived.

People outside the US have exceedingly high expectations of the next American leader. In 14 of 23 countries surveyed recently by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, majorities or pluralities of the population expect the next US president to change American foreign policy for the better. Overwhelmingly, they suggest that Obama is more likely than McCain to do the right thing in world affairs.

But McCain only trailed Obama by a few percentage points in US public opinion surveys going in to the fall campaign. And because the United States elects a president state by state, not by popular vote, McCain stands a good chance of carrying enough individual American states to win the election.

Obama's choice of Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Senate, to be his vice president, demonstrated a desire to reassure voters, and the world, that an internationally experienced person would be one heartbeat away from the presidency.

McCain's choice, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, after having met her only twice, sent a different message. It suggested that the Republican candidate makes important decisions on impulse rather than through a deliberate decision-making process, a trait that may not bode well for future US foreign policymaking.

The recent confrontation between Russia and Georgia is a case in point. McCain was quick to condemn Russian actions in far harsher tones than Obama, who initially urged restraint. Both, however, have supported Georgian membership in Nato and have threatened to deny Russia membership in the World Trade Organization.

McCain has gone even further, urging that Russia be kicked out of the G8. He also supports the Bush administration's plan to build missile-defense sites in Eastern Europe. McCain could be expected to be more confrontational than Obama in dealing with Moscow, an approach that's out of step with Berlin, London and Paris.

McCain has also been one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Iraq war, which Obama opposed from the start. McCain claims victory in Iraq is his first priority. And two in five Americans agree that US efforts in Iraq will succeed. Half of the British, two-thirds of the French and nearly three-quarters of the Germans agree with Obama's belief that the US effort in Iraq was doomed from the start.

Obama and McCain are equally bullish on the war in Afghanistan, where both want to bolster Nato's presence. This stance has the support of the American people, half of whom believe that the Afghan war needs to be won at all costs.

By comparison, global publics have no stomach for such an effort, suggesting both Obama and McCain would face opposition to escalating the war. In 21 of 23 countries Pew surveyed, a majority or plurality of those questioned said that US and Nato troops should be removed from Afghanistan as soon as possible.

On Iran, McCain argues there is only one thing worse than a "military solution" with Tehran and that's Iran having nuclear weapons, implying he would go to war if necessary to end the Iranian nuclear-weapons program. Obama argues for diplomatic engagement to defuse the confrontation. In this case, the American people support Obama not McCain. But two-thirds of Americans have an unfavorable view of Iran, suggesting they could support getting tough with Tehran if diplomacy fails.

Environmental issues promise to be another international headache for Obama or McCain. By a significant margin, publics in 13 of the 23 countries Pew surveyed name the United States as the world's top polluter. To change this perception, the next US president must chart a new course, on climate change.

Both McCain and Obama, unlike Bush, acknowledge the gravity of global warming. But on this they are out of step with the American people. Only 42% of Americans think global warming is a very serious problem. By comparison, majorities in 14 of 23 Pew survey nations are extremely worried about climate change, including 92% of Brazilians, 73% of the Japanese and 66% of the Indians.

The economy will pose additional problems abroad for the next US president, especially McCain. He contends that economic prospects are good. In contrast, publics in 17 of 23 countries rate their economy as bad. Moreover, among those people who think that the US economy influences their economy, large portions -- seven in ten in Britain, Germany and France -- say such American influence is negative.

McCain and Obama also differ on trade. The Republican candidate is an unabashed free trader. The Democrat wants trade agreements to give greater protection to worker and environmental standards which may have the practical effect of crimping trade. And again, McCain seems out of step with trends in public opinion. The Americans' support for trade has fallen 25 percentage points in the last six years, the most of any nation. But enthusiasm for trade has also eroded in Europe and parts of Asia and Latin America.

Like Bush, McCain's instinct it to act unilaterally in dealing with international issues. To that end he has advocated creation of a League of Democracies, effectively a coalition of the willing, which some of his conservative supporters want to use to kill the United Nations. And McCain did recently vote to cut the US share of payments for UN peacekeeping operations. Obama, on the other hand, speaks openly of the need for multilateral approaches to problem solving.

Yet in his opposition to multilateralism, McCain has the support of the American people. When asked what country or organisation should have responsibility for dealing with the world's leading problem, whatever that issue might be, a plurality of Americans said the United States should go it alone. A plurality of the British, French, Germans and Chinese disagree, saying that the United Nations should take the lead.

The next US president will inherit a country with a profound image problem. Anti-American sentiment around the world is already far worse today than it was in 2000. And the disconnect between McCain and, on some issues, Obama and the publics around the world is only likely to worsen that problem. Yet this erosion of America's standing in the world does not concern many Americans. And it will not influence their vote in November.

Bruce Stokes is the co-author of the book America Against the World published by Times Books.

report by bruce strokes.

lets see what happens...we want peace in this world...no more war

Yesterday Barack Obama officially accepted the nominee at the Democratic Convention. Al Gore speeched also yesterday and told agian why he is supporting Barack Obama.
Now Barack Obama is officially choosen as the Democratic candidate for the elections on Novembre 4th for the next president of the USA it is time to look to the candidates.
Americans can choose for Barack Obama and Joe Biden (Democrats), John McCain and ?? ( i expect a 83 year old lady), Bob Barr and Root, Cynthia McKinney and Clemente and there is also again mister Ralp Nader and Gonzalez. May be there are others, but i think my list is complete.
So Americans have some choice you could say. But is there really a choice? On lots of issues there is not much difference in the view of the candidates. I look only to Obama and McCain, because the other candidates can never win the election and they will never be the next president of the usa. That is clear in my opinion.
Why should Barack Obama be the next President of the USA. In my opinion it is clear that we need a change. We really need a change on a lot of issues. Albert Einstein knew that already a long time ago: "Today's problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them"
Of course Einstein is right and that is the main reason why i believe that we really need a change and the only serious candidate to bring that change is Barack Obama. Or do you expect that a 72 years old men like John McCain is coming with new idea's, new solutions, an other way of thinking. No, you're kidding.

Barack Obama is on the right way. Ok, may be he is not so expierenced as McCain but he is much younger, in better condition and he has support from those who started to think in a different way, looking for real solutions for the biggest problems we have ever had in the world.

Wars we had before and we have still wars that kill many people, mostly innocent people. A war is ridiculous, it is stupid and there are never winners, only losers after the war is ended. Most wars go about money, about oil or about religion. All those issues are not important enough for a war. But the leaders of the world still fight with each other.

Instead of fighting about not that important issues they should work together on the biggest problem we ever had. The climate problem, i'm talking about and the energy problems in the world are just a part of that.

Barack Obama has the support of Al Gore, you know from an Unconvienent Truth and Bill Clinton with his own Climate Initiative. Both of them are convinced from our problems. Both of them are looking for other solutions than just pump up more oil. Drilling to oil before the coast of the USA is a bad idea. Looking for recources on the North Pole or on Antartica is also no solution. It is just going on in the same way.

No, we need a worldwide change, an other approach of the issues that really make the difference in the world. Barack Obama is in my opinion the best choice. He is the man that can make a real change. The world is at the moment on a lot of issues depending on the USA, but the country is in fact bankrupt. Nicely done by the Bush Family. And where did al that money go to? War, war, war.

May be it is time to see that a war is no solution and you know that John McCain already said that the war can go on for the next 100 years. As long as neccessairy to leave the war as a winner. Sorry mister McCain, that will not happen, because there is never a winner of any war, unless you forget all people (soldiers and civilians) who died in that war. For what? For oil? For nothing?

So the USA need Barack Obama for a change and the world need the USA for a change. The climate problems are a litter bigger than the wars in the world. Wars stops mostly by some borders and it is always far from home. We hear about it, we see about it, but we are not in that war, unless you're a soldier.

Climate problems have no borders. Carbon dioxide is in the air and it goes everywhere. Climate is changing fast. We are getting more and more extreme weather. Extreme weather will lead to more problems, deaths, damage and so on. What we need is a worldwide change and the USA should lead the way and as far as i can see it should be Barack Obama to be the next President of the USA.
well riz this topic really needs to be discussed because the U.S politicians have been rulling all over the world ... may be cuz of the power that they have and others dont
i had read an article in which a writer wrote IF AMERICANS START AND END A WAR IN THE WORLD SEVEN TIMES , THEY WILL STILL WIN
and the funny thing is that he was an american himself

Yes chesterr it is Obama who needs to be in the white house.. Listening to his speech as a senator when bush decided to invade iraq few years back made him the obvious choice for the democrats . . His choice of vice president shows he is really putting a lotta effort n thought into his campaign n for the welfare of americans on the whole unlike cain . . Actually his speeches remind me of the charisma lincoln n martin luther king's speeches had . . My money is on obama all the way . . 8 yrs of republicans has been too much with nothing but war all thru. . It's like bush came to complete the job his father left half done . . Keep your fingers crossed n don forget that it was florida who won bush his residence in white house

hmm... i also dont like bush hope everything will be better then

theres an old saying "black and white dogs are brothers". lol.. so whoever becomes the president will continue invading other countries in the name of terrorism and threat to world. for a single person (osama) U.S attacked Afganistan and killed thousands of innocents.. even after killing countless men,women n children they couldnt find Osama.They wanted a base in Asia so they can keep a watch over the rest of Asia n they succeded in doing so.

exactly muZ...i think they redefined the term terrorism

so no matter who becomes us president...will keep dictating the whole world lol

Great to see the Political intrest that is shown on the forum guys. Yes it is avery close race but lets not count our chickens before they hatch. Obama is the world favourite but in past historys it is shown sometimes the favourite has not won. I believe Obama will win and he can follow the footsteps of great Leaders such as Martin Luther King and many more. First week on november and we will have a slight image of how the future of our world will look

thanks for news
no more comments

Yup redefined terrorism. . but BUSH did it in the MISUSING his powers as the leader of the most powerful nation today. . I did say in my post that Obama as a democratic senator opposed Bush's proposal to invade Iraq a few yrs back. . That's wot shot him to limelight. .besides i also proposed that Bush came into white house to complete a job left undone by his father. . George Bush the first. .

i read whole thread very carefully although i am nt good in world politics cos i dnt read newspapers etc
but i totally agree with enigmas statement and aktels comment
as much i know which is vry little us foreign policy will never change who ever the president will be

usa will remain the same with same policies
gypsy wrote

up redefined terrorism. . but BUSH did it in the MISUSING his powers as
the leader of the most powerful nation today. . I did say in my post
that Obama as a democratic senator opposed Bush's proposal to invade
Iraq a few yrs back. . That's wot shot him to limelight. .besides i
also proposed that Bush came into white house to complete a job left
undone by his father. . George Bush the first.

dear to be the world leader u need to terrorise the world
]it doesnt matter its bush or its anyone else it will be the same

iraq was a war for oil monopoly
why us never attacked north korea why nt iran????

simple because they will get nothing from north korea instead they will be burdened with hunger poverty there
if they attack iran there expenditure will be less than there income

Do u guys know that Sep 11 attacks on world trade centers was a fake? Shocked? but its true.. those attacks were carried out by U.S themselves so they could get a reason to attack Afganistan and then iraq.. The proof of this thing is in a Documentary called "Farenheight". This Documentary shows the real picture that happend that day.. The firefighters were Interviewed which said that the building collapsed in a well planned manner.. as if bombs were planted in the whole tower.. and the plane which they said hit the outer wall of pentagon was not a plane at all.. The jet liners who built planes said they had never seen a jet engine like that which was found near the wall..there are so many other clues there which clearly shows that this deadly act was carried by U.S themselves