Obamania on Tour

The political phenomenon that is Barack Obama, last weekend, took to the skies as he undertook his first foreign trip as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Beginning in Kabul, Obama travelled on to Iraq and Jordan, and will continue to Israel, before heading to the European capitals of Berlin, Paris, and London. Middle Easterners and Europeans will get belated stimulation from what Mark Steyn terms ‘political Viagra.’ The tour itself has received intense American media coverage, which has also proved controversial as the three network news anchors elected to accompany the Democratic Candidate, leading Fox News to cry foul on John McCain’s behalf. In any case, however the venture is viewed in the US, Obama is certain to receive a reception that the current president could scarcely dream of, at least in Europe.

At face value, Obama’s reasons for undertaking the venture would seem obvious enough, however, underneath the surface many onlookers have speculated as to his real motivations. Conservatives have decried what they argue was Obama’s decision to give a policy brief before departing, thus lending weight to the belief that this trip is little more than a photo opportunity. Very few would claim that this trip will not, in part, be a giant photo shoot, and the power of images is hardly lost on the Obama campaign, however, such an argument is more an attempt to slight Obama than anything else, and blacken what could otherwise prove a very positive venture for the presidential hopeful, at home as Americans see Obama as a statesman, and abroad, as he acknowledges America’s allies.

The world is already awash with Obamania. From Europeans wearing Obama t-shirts to Malaysians sporting ‘Obama for President’ bumper stickers, the Illinois Senator boasts rare global popularity. If Europeans or Asians could elect the US President, Obama would win in a landslide, and every poll on the subject ratifies this view. They are not without their racism, of course, and when Europeans used to ask the seemingly definitive question of whether or not Americans would vote for a black man, with the obvious answer being ‘no, of course not’, Americans were doing precisely the opposite and voting for a black man. Moreover, there is no society in Europe or Asia with the level of multi-ethnic empowerment that the US has, as the recent election campaign has affirmed, so it is neither superior character on behalf of Germans or Britons, or because their interests would be served by an Obama presidency, that causes people to turnout and support him in such force . On the contrary, should Obama see this through, and remain faithful to many of his campaign pledges, there could well be a significant retreat of American business, which would be troublesome for the EU, a serious hurdle for Southeast and East Asia, and a crippling blow to Canada. The massive support for the Democratic candidate outside of the US is more the culmination of serious dissatisfaction with the incumbent, a genuine sense of having been wooed by Obama’s staggering charm, and a serious attraction to the originality his speech, story, and character brings. Whether Europeans or Asians would actually elect Obama to high office in their own countries, as some American commentators sought to ask, reversing the famous question, is irrelevant- and in many cases the answer would be an emphatic no. Obama is not running for the phantom EU Presidency or the mythical ASEAN Secretariat, he is, of course, seeking to be elected President of the United States, and should he court success, it would herald a wave of goodwill across the world.

One will get a snapshot of that when Obama touches down in Berlin, Paris, and London. There will be adoring masses teeming with adulation, a fact that will be caught on tape and relayed to the US. Naturally, Obama’s campaign will use this to exemplify the differences between him and Bush, and therefore extrapolate that to McCain, while the Republican argument holds that this will be a negative in Middle America. Karl Rove said that such footage would not fly in Pittsburgh, and many others have inserted a whole host of cities, from Toledo to Oklahoma, and Raleigh to Boise. These observers have failed to elucidate how exactly popularity in Europe would automatically translate into negative publicity in America outside Manhattan and San Francisco. Underlying, it would seem, there is a belief in some systemic zero-sum between Europe and Middle America. They could potentially argue about differing beliefs and so forth but few have attempted to take it to this level. Former Clinton consultant and resident sensationalist, Dick Morris, did, however, offer up one of the most ridiculous assessments on the subject when he argued that the Europeans are socialists and Obama is a socialist, and therefore Europeans salivate at the prospect of Obama implementing the Eurocratic-socialist agenda in America. This displays brutal ignorance. Firstly, Obama is no socialist. Secondly, the governments of both France and Germany are centre-right. Gordon Brown is indeed Labour but his and Tony Blair’s governments have been the least labour of all of Britain’s supposed left-wing regimes. Moreover, Brown stands to suffer an absolute electoral massacre at the hands of David Cameron, leader of the Conservatives, no less. Additionally, the largest bloc in the European parliament is centre-right, as is that parliament’s president. Social democracy has indeed damaged Europe, and Europeans do not appear to be on the right path to fixing it, but there is no appetite for renewed socialism in Europe. And genuine euro-socialists will not support any American president; the US is force for ill in their eyes, and that is almost a shibboleth for the Euro-left.

In reality there is no neat equation summing up the effects of popularity in Europe on the American public. Yet previous American presidents who have enjoyed esteem in the old world include JFK, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. All three maintained popularity at home in spite of the dreaded support from the latté drinkers across the Atlantic, and none of them carried around the thoughts of Chairman Mao for that matter. It is incredibly unlikely that Middle America will turn against Obama because he is popular in Berlin and London as Karl Rove wishes. However, Obama is not immune to making the odd elitist gaffe. Recently, Obama expressed embarrassment at how mono-linguistic Americans go to Europe armed only with ‘merci beaucoup’. This is ludicrous on many levels, not least because many of the Americans who actually go to Europe are suffering from Euro-philia, and are somewhat proficient in French, German or Spanish. Moreover, Obama can take it from a European who frequently visits the US, though they can speak many languages, the rudest people in America are European tourists.
Barack Obama should avoid statements like this in the future or Karl Rove’s prophecy may yet see the light of day. Popularity in Europe by itself is, if anything, a massive plus. Popularity in Europe, however, coupled with disparaging remarks towards Americans might send a different message. Democrats should be thankful at least that their candidate chose to make this comment in the US and not in Paris, whereby fallout would have been much greater.

The United States, it is often charged, is a young country, but it is a mature one, with a mature electorate, a fact that is often lost on critics and supporters alike. This year, Americans will have to reconcile with a new dimension. For decades, a certain degree of anti-Americanism in Europe was assumed, but so was a level of support from governments in Western Europe. Now, after the Bush tenure, American prestige is in a considerable trough across the Atlantic, and Obama could help lift it. In a normal year, John McCain would actually prove quite popular in Europe, but after the last eight years, it’s now Obamania, plain and simple. Americans will have to come to terms with what that means, and while they should elect their president for their reasons, and their reasons alone, it should also be considered that to make progress globally it would surely be beneficial to have a man in the Oval Office with some degree of global esteem.

An Obama victory will not defeat terrorism, nor make the world any safer for the US, counter the rise of China and India, or heal the transatlantic divide. But it would improve that split. Most importantly, Obama has pinned much of his future strategy to the successful conclusion of the war in ‘precarious’ Afghanistan. Well, it goes without saying that this is in America’s interests, and it has also widely been acknowledged that many of the US’s NATO allies- save Britain and Canada- need to considerably build on their paltry contributions in the fledgling Central Asian state. What an Obama presidency could do is serve as a better sounding board to convince these allies to up their game. It is by no means certain that they would, nor is it definitive that Obama’s popularity would see itself through a period of telling European leaders, and their populations, what to do. However, he would have a far better chance of it that John McCain. It may be somewhat superficial in the short-term, but an Obama administration, by virtue of being lead by Barack Obama would greatly enhance American soft power. That reality should not be lost on the American public in November.