The image of the United States has taken a hit in the last eight years under President Bush. Anyone with half a brain knows that...even the Republicans.
There are certainly a great number of cases to be made when arguing for an Obama Presidency. However, in my opinion, one of the most compelling cases for a President Barack Obama is the message it would send to the rest of the world.
The world doesn't get to vote for our President...however, I think we all know who they want us to put in office.
A new BBC poll of 22 countries provides overwhelming evidence:
http://www.abc.net.au/...
Here are some tid-bits from the article and the poll:
- More than 22,000 people were questioned by pollster GlobeScan in countries ranging from Australia to India and across Africa, Europe and South America.
- An average of 49 per cent across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12 percent preferring Senator McCain.
- In 17 of the 22 nations, people expect relations between the US and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama wins.
- The countries most optimistic that an Obama presidency would improve relations were America's NATO allies, including Australia (62 per cent).
Granted, many people in the USA could care less about what anyone from outside our borders thinks about our election. However, I think right now more than any time in recent history, we need to realize that the world really is watching.
The world wants to see what we do after eight years of Bush. It wants to see if we will appeal to the very things that used to make America the envy of the world...or, like 4 years ago, we will let fear and division rule the day.
Think of the signal we would be sending to the rest of the world if we elect a man like Barack Obama as President after 8 years of arguably the worst president in our history. Think of Barack and think of what we know about him...if I didn't live in the USA, I imagine the following things would make me very happy to see him as the new leader of the free world:
*He is a person of color...the first one from the USA to become President, and maybe the most powerful position someone of color has held in the recent history of man
*He was against the Iraq War from the start
*He asks his country to appeal to its better angels
*He doesn't talk down to the rest of the world
*He has lived in a country other than the USA
*He is against torture
*He has JFK written all over him
I could go on...but you get the point.
As President Truman once said: 'No nation on this globe should be more internationally minded than America because it was built by all nations.'
And what better time to remind ourselves of these words than right now?