Posted on 05/29/2008 9:30:23 AM PDT by propertius
Senator Barack Obama emerged as Europe's favourite candidate for America’s presidency today when a poll conducted for Telegraph.co.uk gave him 52 per cent support across five of the world’s richest nations, including Britain.
John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, received only 15 per cent of the vote in unprecedented survey covering Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia.
Poll analysis: Barack Obama wins over anti-Bush Britain Poll analysis: Russians consider the US a force for evil Country-by-country poll results (Excel file)
The poll also found a striking level of anti-American feeling in every country. A clear majority of Russians - 56 per cent - believe the US is a “force for evil” in the world. In Britain, only 33 per cent see America as a “force for good”.
Opinion towards America has become steadily more hostile throughout the presidency of George W Bush, with the Iraq war probably being the single most important factor.
Mr Bush’s unpopularity appears to have rubbed off on Republican presidential candidates in general. This might explain why Mr McCain, a strong supporter of the Iraq war, is the least popular potential president in all the countries surveyed.
Meanwhile, Mr Obama, the only consistent opponent of the Iraq war in the race for the presidency, commands a clear lead. He is especially popular in Italy, where a remarkable 70 per cent would vote for him if they could.
In France, historically the European country with the strongest anti-American sentiment, 65 per cent would back Mr Obama. In Germany, the Democratic Senator would get 67 per cent of the vote - while Mr McCain would receive a derisory six per cent.
Mr Obama appears to have made less of an impact in Britain than elsewhere in Europe. A relatively modest 49 per cent of Britons would vote for him, while 14 per cent would back Mr McCain - twice the totals favouring the Republican candidate in Germany or France.
Another 13 per cent of Britons would not vote for either man and 24 per cent “don’t know”.
The only country where Mr McCain can rival his opponent’s popularity is in Russia, where anti-American feeling is strongest. The Republican appears to have made a striking impression on Russians, with 24 per cent saying they would vote for him if they could - a mere seven points behind Mr Obama.
Meanwhile, more Russians trust Mr McCain to “lead the global economy out of its current difficulties”. His economic policy skills have the support of 36 per cent, compared with 28 per cent who back Mr Obama.
Historically, Russians have tended to favour Republican presidents and conservative leaders in the West in the general. Both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher enjoyed considerable popularity in the former Soviet Union in the 1980s.
While Vladimir Putin, the former president who now serves as prime minister, confronted the West on a series of issues, he frequently spoke of his personal regard for Mr Bush, calling the American leader a “decent and honest man”.
But the Telegraph.co.uk poll found that only 16 per cent of Russians see America as a “force for good” in the world. In Britain, the total was 33 per cent and in France, only 28 per cent. As recently as 2000, a global attitudes survey found that 83 per cent of Britons and 62 per cent of the French had a “favourable” view of America.
The Telegraph poll found that Italy has overtaken Britain to become the most pro-American country out of Europe’s four largest nations. Almost half - 49 per cent - of Italians see America as a “force for good” with only 27 per cent believing Washington is a “force for evil”.
- This research, commissioned by Telegraph.co.uk, was carried out online between May 23 and 29 by YouGov plc. The total sample was 6,256 (broken down into Britain 2,241; France 1,005; Russia 1,001; Italy 1,004; Germany 1,005).
Print this story Email this story Share this story RSS Feeds Related Content Barack Obama wins over anti-Bush Britain: US election 2008 Majority of Russians consider United States a force for evil: US election 2008 Country-by-country poll results (Excel file) Obama's poker face comes into play McCain finds himself yesterday's man John McCain, Obama and America's problem John McCain heads Republican race after Florida win Hollywood election in a nation under siege
This is good for McCain. Euro-weenies side with Castro.
Given that Vladimir Putin, their revered prime minister, once likened the United States to the Third Reich, it should come as little surprise that Russians were more suspicious of their Cold War adversary’s motives than any other nationality surveyed.
Just 16 per cent of those surveyed thought the United States a force for good in the world, compared with 56 percent who considered it a force for evil.
You don’t have to look far to see why.
Many Russians reckon that the United States played a crucial role in the financial collapse of the 1990s by pushing Boris Yeltsin’s government into making precipitous economic reforms.
The Iraq war and a relentless stream of anti-US rhetoric from Mr Putin, who regularly portrayed Washington as an imperialist aggressor, have only heightened that antagonism.
America’s plans to build a missile defence shield in central Europe and a Washington-led campaign to bring the ex-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine have also played on Russia’s traditional paranoia.
State television frequently points to both issues as evidence that the United States is conspiring to encircle and enfeeble Russia as part of a plot to steal its vast energy resources.
Arguably more surprisingly, the survey shows that John McCain enjoys more support in Russia than most of the G8. While he still trailed Barack Obama by seven per cent, 24 per cent of Russians said they could vote for him if they could — compared to just eight per cent of French respondents.
In Soviet times it was generally agreed that the Kremlin preferred to see a Republican in the White House. Conservatives were more straightforward to deal with because they acted from self-interest and were less concerned with human rights than their Democratic rivals, it was reckoned.
Mr McCain, however, has been roundly criticised in the Russian media for his antagonistic opinions towards Moscow. He has long called for Russia’s expulsion from the G8, has been scathing about Mr Putin and dismissed the country’s presidential elections in March as “rigged”.
While Mr Obama has hardly been fulsome about Russia, his criticism has been far more muted.
That his lead over his Republican rival is so slim probably has much to do with prejudice in a country where old-fashioned racism is still largely acceptable.
Many respondents, however, were equally dubious about both candidates with some 45 per cent saying they did not know who they would vote for or admitting they would vote for neither — a much higher proportion than the samples taken in other G8 countries.
That could have something to do with the aides the two candidates have chosen to advise them on foreign policy. Mr Obama’s team includes Michael McFaul, an academic who has been critical of Mr Putin and Zbigniew Brzezinski, a well known hawk on Russia.
Mr McCain, however, is advised on foreign policy by former secretaries of state James Baker and Henry Kissinger, both seen as more pragmatic on Russia.
The hands of both men were seen in a foreign policy speech by Mr McCain this week that took a softer line on Russia.
Whatever Mr McCain may have said about Russia in the past, he could well take a different tack were he to become president. Both George W Bush and Jacques Chirac, the former French president, were vocal in their criticism on Russia’s war in Chechnya while on the campaign trail — only to soften their positions when they took office.
“Most realise that every position outlined on the campaign trail is not necessarily fulfilled when the candidate becomes president,” said Lyudmilla Lebedeva, a director at the Institute for USA studies in Moscow.
And yet... all those people would LOVE to live in United States... go figure...
And this poll means ?
BFD - who cares what the socialists across the pond think.
Barack Obama wins over anti-Bush Britain: US election 2008
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Last updated: 5:00 PM BST 29/05/2008
British voters are disenchanted with the Bush Administration’s War on Terrorism and want Barack Obama to be the next US president, a new poll shows today.
The exclusive YouGov poll for Telegraph.co.uk shows that Mr Obama, the leading Democrat candidate for the White House, is more popular with British voters than John McCain, the Republican nominee.
Whoever becomes the next US president, the poll suggests he or she will have a great deal of work to do to repair the Special Relationship and restore the standing of the US in the eyes of the British public.
Some 35 per cent of British people questioned by YouGov agree that the US is now a “force for evil” in the world. By contrast, only 33 per cent believe the US is a force for good.
That result reflects discontent with the US in the wake of the invasion of Iraq and controversial aspects of US security policy such as the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.
Gordon Brown has had a sometimes-cool relationship with Mr Bush, but in a speech in Boston last month he recommitted Britain to the Special Relationship, which he insisted is “so firmly rooted in our common history, our shared values and in the hearts and minds of our people that no power on earth can drive us apart.”
Asked about November’s presidential election, British people overwhelmingly want the Democrats to capture the White House and end eight years of Republican rule in the US.
Some 49 per cent of UK respondents said that if they could vote in the contest, they would back Mr Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black president in US history.
By contrast, only 14 per cent said they would vote for Mr McCain, a veteran Arizona senator best known in the UK as a former Vietnam prisoner of war.
British voters have slightly more faith in Mr McCain as an economic leader, however.
Asked which of the two contenders would be “better equipped to lead the world economy out of its current difficulties,” Mr Obama’s lead narrows. The UK poll puts him on 37 per cent, ahead of Mr McCain on 17 per cent.
Mr Brown met both Mr Obama and Mr McCain – along with Hillary Clinton – on a visit to the US last month.
The Prime Minister has been careful to remain neutral about the race in public, but the Labour Party’s historic ties to the Democrats and widespread unease about the Bush Administration’s foreign policy mean that most Labour ministers and MPs would back Mr Obama over Mr McCain.
The Tories, however, have a more ambiguous view of the presidential battle.
Mr McCain has a long-standing relationship with the Conservatives, and has appeared at Tory conferences as a guest of David Cameron, the Conservative leader.
Mr Cameron has even tested diplomatic convention by coming close to endorsing Mr McCain as the next president, telling the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that he “admired him a great deal”.
Liam Fox, the Conservatives shadow defence spokesman, has strong ties with senior Republicans and members of the Bush Administration.
But with US polls suggesting the Democrats are the favourites in the November vote, and with evidence emerging that British voters are warming to Mr Obama, Mr Cameron has sought to strengthen his party’s relationship with Democrats.
Some Conservative commentators have even sought to draw parallels between Mr Cameron and Mr Obama, pointing out that both are young, charismatic and relatively inexperienced politicians who have taken on their party’s establishments.
How many electoral votes does Obama win by taking England, France, Germany and Russia? What a worthless waste of time...
If euros like Obama we know its bad.
B. Hussein beats McCain in Eurotrash voting?
‘Nuff said!
Next they can poll the French on anti-British sentiments, polish on anti-German sentiments, The Greeks on anti-Turk sentiments, and nearly everyone on anti-Russian sentiments.
Really, who cares?
But will the DNC be able to seat the delegates from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia under current DNC rules?
LOL! They keep pumping out these stories. Now let's see, who do I want to go to for advice on my next President? I know - I'll find a group of folks who think my country is evil and ought to be wiped off the face of the earth for the good of all mankind. Yeah, that's who I'll ask!
I hear the Israelis are real interested in who Ahmadinejad, Assad, Zawahiri and bin Laden want as their next President, too...
The headline is false, Europeans have no “vote” in U.S. elections
And Putin is a freakin' Teletubby bringing joy and peace to all.
In Britain, only 33 per cent see America as a “force for good”.
Um, did they say that in English?? Or German?? Oh, that's right, they CAN still speak English since WWII.
I don’t know if any of the below is true, the information has been circulation on the internet, but it is probably worth checking out.
1.) Selma Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google’Obama Selma’ for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.)
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga’sfollower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that....and for more.
Obama’s cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get Sharia muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians’ homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth.
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY,your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother’s side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father’s side. While Barack Hussein Obama’s father was from Kenya, his father’s family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama’s father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father’s birth certificate even states he’s Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more....go to.....
http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?Barack_Hussein_Obama_-_Arab-American,_only_6.25%25_African
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.
4-3-08 Article ‘Obama was ‘quite religious in islam’’ http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559
8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as ‘one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.’ This is just one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says ‘Obama’s narrative is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.’
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East(bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine.
13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - NOT EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.
16.) Voting ‘Present’ is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY,they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.
17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you didn’t write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to bereleased, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.
28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT EXACTLY, the Candian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaignhad with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction off Israel.
30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the delegates decide.
31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26, most of which you didn’t write yourself.
33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.
34.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it.
35.) I don’t Have Lobbysists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY, your own campaignworker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.
37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time.
38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTL Y, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it
Europe is mostly pro-socialistic, so where’s the surprise when the majority of them vote for Obama?
The Europinheads can take their opinion of America and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. They owe us a heck of a lot more than we owe them and their opinions mean little in the grand scheme of things.
The US will still be the first country they come grovelling too the minute things go bad over there.
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