Obama restores America’s standing in the world

[mawilson 2,133]

Barack Obama has restored America’s global standing to where it was before the Bush era,

but many in the Muslim world remain hostile, according to a survey published on Thursday.

The Pew Research Center’s annual global attitudes survey indicated that people polled in

25 countries now had a more positive attitude towards the US. The exception was Israel,

where approval dipped after President Obama courted the Muslim world in a June speech

in Cairo.

“It is certainly better to have a president who is respected and who is popular than who

is not,” said Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, referring to the contrast in

international public regard for Mr Obama with that for former president George W. Bush.

“We were in a hole in our reputation and leadership... There is a long way to go but it is

much better to start here.”

For the most part, however, attitudes were negative in much of the Muslim world, including

allies in Turkey and Pakistan. Only 14 percent of Turks gave the US a favourable rating,

barely up on last year.

“I personally am a little surprised by the continuing Muslim numbers,” Ms Albright said.

She described the Muslim and Western worlds as being in a “very deep rift”, which would

“take some time to fix”.

For the first time in a number of years, however, an American president received a more

positive rating in some large majority Muslim countries than Osama Bin Laden,

the al-Qaeda leader. One of Mr Obama’s highest ratings came from Indonesia, where he

spent part of his childhood.

Some of the reverses in opinion were extreme. In 2008, only 14 per cent of Germans

expressed confidence in Mr Bush. By this year that had risen to 93 per cent for Mr Obama.

The survey showed the Obama factor had softened global opinion in most regions,

particularly western Europe, and that fewer now regarded the US as acting unilaterally in

world affairs.

When it came to economic issues, however, most countries surveyed saw the US as having

a negative impact on their local economies – rising to 78 per cent in the case of neighbouring

Canada.

There was little consensus over which country was doing the best job of handling the

financial crisis, although the US generally rated higher than the European Union and China.

A majority of respondents in all but China, Canada and India were unhappy about the

direction in which their countries were heading.

In most countries, approval of the local economic picture appeared to have slumped along

with worldwide growth rates. In Russia, where oil and gas revenues have financed growth,

the backlash was particularly sharp. Only 20 percent of Russian respondents were happy

with their economy, compared with 52 percent last year.

Optimism was nevertheless on the rise after last year. In Britain, 44 per cent of respondents

expressed hope in an economic recovery, compared with 14 percent in 2008. The rise was

general throughout western Europe.

Elsewhere in the survey, European leaders fared less well than Mr Obama, with even Angela

Merkel, Germany’s popular chancellor, failing to match his high approval ratings. France’s

President Nicolas Sarkozy was less popular than fellow European leaders, while Russia’s

President Dmitri Medvedev received mostly negative ratings.

link

[alienlovechild 75]

Some of the reverses in opinion were extreme. In 2008, only 14 per cent of Germans

expressed confidence in Mr Bush. By this year that had risen to 93 per cent for Mr Obama.

That's odd. Germans aren't given to political extremes. . . lately.

[Ban Hammer 13,641]

why does obama hate israel?

Some of the reverses in opinion were extreme. In 2008, only 14 per cent of Germans

expressed confidence in Mr Bush. By this year that had risen to 93 per cent for Mr Obama.

That's odd. Germans aren't given to political extremes. . . lately.

first we take manhatten...........

[Peikko 1,575]

Actually, your article does not reflect what you posted as the headline of this topic:

"For the first time in a number of years, however, an American president received a more

positive rating in some large majority Muslim countries than Osama Bin Laden,

the al-Qaeda leader. One of Mr Obama’s highest ratings came from Indonesia, where he

spent part of his childhood."

In other words, Obama is in fact more popular than Bin Laden, not less so...

[mawilson 2,133]

Actually, your article does not reflect what you posted as the headline of this topic:

"For the first time in a number of years, however, an American president received a more

positive rating in some large majority Muslim countries than Osama Bin Laden,

the al-Qaeda leader. One of Mr Obama’s highest ratings came from Indonesia, where he

spent part of his childhood."

In other words, Obama is in fact more popular than Bin Laden, not less so...

No, the subtitle is correct. "For the first time in years"... a more positive rating in "some" countries.

"Most" = "all" - "some".

[alienlovechild 75]

Obama is in fact more popular than Bin Laden

Most of the surveyees got confused between Obama and Osama so they flipped a coin mentally.

[Ban Hammer 13,641]

Obama is in fact more popular than Bin Laden

Most of the surveyees got confused between Obama and Osama so they flipped a coin mentally.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Actually, your article does not reflect what you posted as the headline of this topic:

"For the first time in a number of years, however, an American president received a more

positive rating in some large majority Muslim countries than Osama Bin Laden,

the al-Qaeda leader. One of Mr Obama’s highest ratings came from Indonesia, where he

spent part of his childhood."

In other words, Obama is in fact more popular than Bin Laden, not less so...

No, the subtitle is correct. "For the first time in years"... a more positive rating in "some" countries.

"Most" = "all" - "some".

That's only correct if they polled *all* muslim countries...