U.S. image abroad

Too much of the time, President Bush has had poor receptions when traveling abroad. The war in Iraq at times pushed anti-Americanism to new heights, even in traditional allies like Britain. This analyst thinks the passing of the Bush administration might not solve those problems. McCain and Obama both think they can help in that regard. The Pew Research Center has been tracking the extent of the problem and reports both good and bad news: 10 of the 21 countries polled said they had somewhat more favorable views of the U.S. than they did before, but the U.S. image abroad remains far less positive than it was eight years ago. This French economist says this is about American policies. The economist says that has manifested itself in worse attitudes towards American brands worldwide, and if that trend continues it will hurt American jobs and the American economy. This economist sees the same trends in Nigeria, and businesspeople in Nigeria now look towards Asia and China instead of the U.S. the Pew Research Center has also found that people around the world are watching the U.S. presidential race closely. Second, American voters see the country’s loss of international respect as a major problem. It’s no secret that Obama is more popular abroad. This columnist in Australia says expectations abroad of Obama might be out of whack, and Obama is not to be regarded as a messiah on the international stage. The next U.S. president is also likely to ask international partners for some things they won’t want to deliver, like more troops in Iraq of Afghanistan.