Europeans are perhaps even more entranced than Americans by Mr Obama's message of “change” and “hope”. They are also being forced to rethink some of their deepest prejudices about America. How can the land of “Stupid White Men” produce a Barack Obama? And how can Europe go on feeling quite so superior to America when it treats so many of its own minorities so badly? The French parliament has only one black person representing mainland France.
The Economist's recent Lexington column reflects on the potential hurdles facing Obama and McCain in rebuilding America's relationship with Europe, although our neighbors across the Atlantic are currently swept up in "Obamamania" where according to a new Pew poll taken in France and Germany, 80 percent believe that Obama will "do the right thing in foreign affairs" compared to 30 percent for McCain. Of course, what that "right thing" is gets to the heart of "possible future tensions" that may arise from some of Obama's positions on issues ranging from Israel (maintaining the status quo) to his schizophrenia on free trade where he "declares himself a free-trader" but then "saturates the airwaves with ads denouncing NAFTA."
That said, in the choice between McCain or Obama, the concerns the Economist (which was decidedly pro-Hillary) has towards an Obama presidency is overshadowed by what an overall improvement, I believe, Obama will be over McCain and most certainly Bush.
Read more here.