As America prepares for the grueling presidential electoral process to mature over the next four months, the international community is also starting to take notice and is weighing in on its own preferences for the next leader of the free world.
According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, there is growing interest in the 2008 U.S. presidential race paralleled by an increase in confidence that U.S. foreign policy will change for the better under the next president. However, when it comes to rating preferences over who will be the next president there is really no contest.
In all but one (Jordan) of the twenty-two countries surveyed, Senator Barack Obama leads Senator John McCain and for the most part by sizable margins. This is most evident in Europe where Obama leads by an average of almost 46 percent. In the two Latin American countries surveyed (Mexico and Brazil) the gap is narrowed, but still significant with Obama leading by 16 percent on average.
Some have raised red flags when it comes to relying too heavily on international opinions when making our own decisions on whom to vote for in our elections. On the right there is nothing more frightening than a president that Europe (and especially France) choses for us. On the left there is fear that a president who is favored internationally will be more likely to export more American jobs abroad or be more willing to enter into more international trade deals.
But our domestic and foreign policies have never been so single faceted. These fears are for the most part exaggerated and are far outweighed by the benefits of winning back international popularity, or at least respect, for our American presidency and the government it is in charge of.
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