This according to Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian:
An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse.
But what of the rest of the world? This is the reaction I fear most. For Obama has stirred an excitement around the globe unmatched by any American politician in living memory. Polling in Germany, France, Britain and Russia shows that Obama would win by whopping majorities, with the pattern repeated in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. If November 4 were a global ballot, Obama would win it handsomely. If the free world could choose its leader, it would be Barack Obama.
The crowd of 200,000 that rallied to hear him in Berlin in July did so not only because of his charisma, but also because they know he, like the majority of the world's population, opposed the Iraq war. McCain supported it, peddling the lie that Saddam was linked to 9/11. Non-Americans sense that Obama will not ride roughshod over the international system but will treat alliances and global institutions seriously: McCain wants to bypass the United Nations in favour of a US-friendly League of Democracies. McCain might talk a good game on climate change, but a repeated floor chant at the Republican convention was "Drill, baby, drill!", as if the solution to global warming were not a radical rethink of the US's entire energy system but more offshore oil rigs.
If Americans choose McCain, they will be turning their back on the rest of the world, choosing to show us four more years of the Bush-Cheney finger. And I predict a deeply unpleasant shift.
Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for.
And the manner of that decision will matter, too. If it is deemed to have been about race - that Obama was rejected because of his colour - the world's verdict will be harsh. In that circumstance, Slate's Jacob Weisberg wrote recently, international opinion would conclude that "the United States had its day, but in the end couldn't put its own self-interest ahead of its crazy irrationality over race".
I'm not even going to take this opportunity to counter the insulting implication that we are a bunch of hick racists who would never elect a black President. That idea has of course been floating around and you can be sure if Obama loses in November, that discussion will explode into a national debate. It's ridiculous, but I will rant about that another time.
However, to Mr. Freedland's point, I'm tired of caring what the rest of the world thinks. That's not because I think we, as Americans, are so much better than people from other countries. That's not the point. It's because to constantly be gauging the attitude of Europe towards the U.S. is to accept that we are indeed a problem for them, a scourge to the planet, an obstacle to global progress. Interestingly, that seems to be exactly the view of the Left currently in this country – and it's a view that I reject.
America is not the problem, not the scourge, not the obstacle. America is the solution to problems. America is the progress. America is the hope of the world. Period.
Show me a society that has produced more, given more, liberated more, and inspired more; and done so in such a short time. This is not arrogance, just truth.
Now, that doesn't mean that we should trample across the world waving our flag and getting involved in every conflict or situation that comes up. Not in the least. But we should humbly assist those who need (and want) our help, continue to grow our economic strength to our benefit and the developing world, and most of all, continue to lead by example. But hopefully, always with an eye on our own affairs here at home first.
Are we perfect? No, of course not. But I resent the idea that this election – and Obama's predicted victory – has turned into the 'Great American apology to the world' for the last eight years. What, really, do we need to apologize for?
I know the Europeans are all excited about Barry, but I'm not waking up in the morning worrying about how Pierre from Paris is feeling about U.S. politics. I'm sorry, I'm just not.
If anti-Americanism will be 'cured' by Obama's election, I'm happy to refuse the pill.
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