At a time when America’s image abroad is at rock bottom, Barack Obama’s nomination victory is generating excitement in many foreign countries and even admiration for the United States.
“The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African-American as its president,†said a Japanese political analyst.
“Obama is the exciting image of what we always hoped America was,†echoed an Englishman.
In Kenya, which was home to Obama’s father, people are ecstatic.
Not everyone is enamored — some Israelis worry that Obama won’t be tough enough on their Arab enemies. Russians just aren’t following the race.
Still, it’s a glimpse of the good will that an Obama presidency could generate.
