We love Obama, just not America... yet
With Obama safely in the hot seat, Americans can surely look forward, once more, to summer holidays abroad without subterfuge.
They can unpick the maple leaves sewn onto their suitcases under George W, and stop passing their accents off as "Canadian, honest".
America is back where it belongs, snug in the centre of hearts and estimations across the world. Because that was the deal, right? They give us Obama, we (citizens of the rest of the world) stop hating them. Or not.
According to a new poll, while Obama is viewed positively in most of the world, global attitudes toward America have barely improved at all.
Asked whether they have confidence in Barack Obama to "do the right thing regarding world affairs," for all nations (excluding the US) an average of 61 percent say they have some or a lot of confidence.
But asked how the US treats their government, few--on average just one in four--say it "treats us fairly," while two-thirds say that it "abuses its greater power to make us do what the US wants."
Overall, these views are no better than they were in 2008. Only three countries diverged from this view (Kenya, Nigeria, and Germany).
Better fish that maple leaf out of the trash then. It looks like we're not quite ready to settle this old grudge.
