Though President Obama and Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck in the polls at home, a recent BBC poll showed that Obama remains the clear favorite abroad. How does the president remain so popular around the world?
Ros Atkins hosts the BBC program, World Have Your Say, where listeners call in from all over the world to discuss the news. He has heard a number of opinions about the presidential election, and joins us to talk about what people are saying about the candidates abroad.
“Our audience around the world has not engaged with this election as it did with the election four years ago. There isn’t a narrative that it can buy into as it did with the idea of the first black person becoming president of America,” Atkins says. “But, there remains a fascination with your country, and how Americans live, and that’s coming out through out election coverage.”
Still, the health of the American economy is important around the world. For the last few weeks, Ros Atkins has been traveling around the United States, looking at how various industries are faring in the recession. “What was interesting actually, being at the factory in Chicago, was that several of the people there emphasized, look, we may not make as much as we once did, and the Chinese are making more than they once did, but we’re still making one in five things in the world – America is responsible for 18% of manufacturing.”
Furthermore, Atkins says, the influence of the American economy on the rest of the world is not simply a financial one. “This is a country about dreams,” he says – not just for Americans, but for people around the world. “When they see your economy doing well, that increases the number of people who simply dream about coming here and working.”
Still, in spite of Obama’s continuing popularity according to the poll conducted by the BBC, Atkins says there is far less enthusiasm for the candidate in this election.
“I think people are going from being excited about Obama, to perhaps being a little more indifferent,” Atkins says. “People did expect a lot from Barack Obama, and perhaps inevitably, he’s not been able to deliver on those expectations.”
“People really believed Barack Obama would change things,” Atkins says. “I think people have appreciated the shift in tone that Barack Obama has delivered, but in terms of actual actions, they’ve been less than convinced.”