Obama & The Rest Of The World
If the rest of the world could vote in the American elections, Barack Obama would certainly win. The adulation that he was greeted with on his tour of Europe, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan show as much. Obama symbolizes a great deal to a world fed up with President Bush.
Americans, however, seem not to care much what the world thinks. This is hardly surprising - America is known internationally for its inward-looking nature. Obama’s quasi-presidential trip has done little for him in the polls here at home. According to the latest Wall Street Journal poll, he is up on McCain by 6 points, but this is the same as last month. Other polls - such as Fox New’s one last week which showed little ‘bounce’ after his overseas trip - put Obama between 1 and 3 points ahead. Basically, there is still a good chance that McCain could win.
So why is this? Why isn’t Obama much further ahead than McCain? Well, first of all, America is dealing with its own domestic struggles - gas prices, a declining economy, foreclosures and so on. Those matter more to the average American than what is going on in the rest of the world. Secondly, McCain’s image is still strong and he is still a well-respected candidate. Some Americans, it seems, are still struggling to fully connect with Obama.
Maybe the effect of the overseas tour on polls has been overblown? Even Obama himself did not expect it to cause any significant changes in the polls and - to be honest - polls are not necessarily an accurate indication of voter behaviour on election day.
Obama, or McCain? We all know who would win internationally. But, here in the US, it still remains to be seen.
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