Kempe: Europe's in love with Obama

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Today, on CSPAN, Frederick Kempe, President of the Atlantic Council of U.S.* said that there was a tremendous amount of interest in Europe with our primaries. He said that Europe was in love with Barack Obama - because after the disastrous Bush administration, they were hopeful that a new spirit of cooperation would begin and that Obama was the one they thought could bring this about.

Earlier this year, Kempe wrote in http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=acC1HxP.hspE
<snip>

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama were all that Europeans wanted to talk about in the hallways and at the dinners of the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy over the weekend.

The surprise in my unscientific survey of these defense- policy wonks, from cabinet ministers to professors, is that Obama is their runaway favorite. This is the case even though Obama, unlike McCain and Clinton, has never spoken here, and few here know what his foreign policies might be.

Perhaps that's the point: Europeans want U.S. change even more than most Americans -- and his candidacy offers more of it.

Most Europeans tend to favor Democrats, but never has their dislike for Republicans been as great as it is for George W. Bush. Reasons include his early dismissal of their climate- change concerns (since altered), his disregard for multilateral diplomacy on Iraq and other issues (since revised), and his Texas drawl and swagger (well, you can't change everything).

Thus Senator Joe Lieberman, who led the U.S. delegation in Munich, felt compelled after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates's keynote speech to emphasize that all the presidential candidates would press Europeans to do more fighting and dying in Afghanistan or risk NATO's decay. That followed carping by German members of parliament displeased with Gates for a leaked letter pleading with allies to do more in the restive Afghan south.

What bubbles underneath such mutual recriminations is an emerging hope that the next U.S. president might start a new conversation about how to renew and reshape Atlanticism through inspirational American leadership.

That's what lies behind the Obama preference. European policy insiders are uneasy about McCain, a conference regular who is blunt about Europe's need to improve its game. They also are cool about Clinton, though her husband was a huge hit in Europe.

<snip>

FROM NORWAY:


FROM LONDON:





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Mission of Atlantic Council: To promote constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century.)

[LTR]

1. Since nobody else will, I'll give it a kick

Interesting article. Thanks.

:kick:

[Window]

2. K/R.

:kick:

[Alter Ego]

3. That's good, but I'd prefer America be in love with him first and foremost.

Europe is the icing on the cake, though--I'm tickled that just electing him would help greatly in repairing our world image.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. You're right ! My first reaction - splash this. But, I can hear the

rightwing McPain ad now. "And, EUROPE likes him!" like it's a bad thing.

You you imagine though - what it will be like to have someone new, someone
fresh, someone who wants do something good, and have the world start
waving american flags again !

[Divernan]

4. On the NetherlandsAntilles island of Saba, taxi driver was disgusted with HRC's lies re Tuzla

On this Dutch island in the Caribbean, I asked my (65 year old) taxi driver, taking me on a 2 hour tour of the island, about their health care system, which led to a discussion of politics. I said I was working for Obama, and he immediately started tearing into HRC. He was familiar with her lies about landing under sniper fire in Tuzla and was absolutely disgusted with her. "She's a liar! She's a terrible liar!" He went on to detail some other criticisms of her, as well as McCain, and said what a positive statement it would be to the rest of the world that the American dream was still alive, if we elected Obama. I told him it was a shame that the majority of US voters were not as familiar with the primary candidates as he was.

One of my fellow Obama campaign workers has an adult daughter living in Barcelona, Spain. This woman often wears her Obama '08 t-shirt around town, and "people often come up to her to ask about Obama and express the hope he wins the election."

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. that's cool - great story!

[grantcart]

5. Imagine Africa and the Middle East reaction

[Tinksrival]

6. This is true.....

I attended a conference in Barcelona in March. My husband company is London based and has offices all over the world. Every year there is a "kick-off" in different European locations that brings everyone together. Diner conversation is usually politics and the dislike and astonishment of Bush is universal. I was surprised this year at the interest in Obama. I figured with Bill's popularity, Hillary would be the popular topic. She hardly came up. I think everyone in the world just wants to move on.

On a side note: My first kick-off was in Malta the week Bush started bombing Iraq. The company had just opened their first US office in Chicago that year. We were representing our country and I have never been so ashamed to be an American. Every year for the next five has been such a challenge to explain what has been happening here, especially after * was selected AGAIN!

Next year will be different! PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!

P.S. The french now think Sarkozy is a joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWHwNzk7OfA&feature=related

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. Yes, it's embarrassing. If his approval ratings are so low here -

they must be close to zero everywhere else.

We were in Canada a couple days after 9-11. In the pubs, they'd
have Bush's speeches on TV and everyone would be hooted and
hollering and making fun of him. (I loved it) They were really pissed
when we wouldn't let jets land in the US but sent them to
Canada - Like "thanks a lot" for the planes w/ potential bombs.

Yikes, what kind of job do you have - sounds dreamy !

[Divernan]

11. Europeans can NOT understand how US could re-elect Bush!

I was in Dublin (Ireland), Belfast (Northern Ireland/UK) and British Columbia(Canada) last fall - and it was the same question in all three countries - how COULD the Americans have been so stupid as to re-elect Bush! Some people answered their own question by telling me that they believed the Republicans had stolen both the elections - from Gore and then Kerry.

The rest of the industrialized nations put the US to shame in that their citizens are so much better informed and involved in local and international politics than Americans.

Even when writing this post to the very politically involved readership of DU, I felt compelled to differentiate that Ireland and Northern Ireland are two different countries - couldn't safely make the assumption that everyone knew that.

[Barking Spider]

10. A good friend studying in Denmark can confirm this

He says the Danes are more interested in our upcoming election than they were in their own recent elections.

Barack Obama (pronounced Bear'-ick Oh-Bam'-uh) is a rockstar over there. John McCain is feared/despised. Hillary is lukewarm oatmeal.