What do you mean, he's not president?

[andygates]

Obama's world tour is going great guns: they took him seriously in the Middle East and in Berlin two hundred thousand people turned out pretty much to anoint his feet with oil.  Two hundred thousand for a candidate they can't even elect.  Seems that he's pitching this as the Next Leader Of The Free World Tour and the rest of us out here in the world, we pretty much like that. 

Let's face it after eight years of Captain Catastrophe, Barney the frakking Dinosaur would be an improvement but I'm not seeing simple relief here, I'm seeing desperate relief and a thread of actual, genuine, Kennedy-flavoured optimism.  Crikey.

I wonder how much impact this will have on his electability in the US (you know, where his voters are)? 

Comments

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what he's doing, and it's clever. My (admittedly limited) experience of US Foreign Policy during elections seems to be a short list of good guys (any o youse folks out there hurt our buddies an' we'll turn you to glass!) and a list of bad guys (who will be turned to glass on principle). I've always had this sense of patronising indulgence from US politicians on foreign soil.

Obama seems to be doing something else: he's recognising that with mass global communication even national politics are global events, especially when you're the US. The US Goverment has spent so much time and effort stamping it's ironshod jackboot all over the rest of the world to show how big and mighty it is, US politics have become a matter of serious global interest.

[teahisme.livejournal.com]

Or perhaps as a good patriot, he is just trying to tell the rest of the world that not everyone in my country is an idiot. Of course every country has their idiots, I think on a ratio of people to land mass we all probably have a similar percentage.

[katebush.livejournal.com]

Who could take McCain seriously anyway, he's named after an oven chip? ;)

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Only 5% brain.

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

Also he looks like he belongs behind the wheel of a state trooper car wearing a Stetson and chasing Burt Reynolds in a Trans-Am.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Harsh, but fair.

Whereas Obama looks cool enough to be played by Will Smith in the biopic.

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

[thudthwacker.livejournal.com]

Win.

"Barack Obama: Black Man In."

[andygates.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of the pre-Bush presidents. This incredibly simplistic with-us-or-agin-us thing is new. The cod-psychologist in me would say that the open, engaging president is the confident one (and why not? biggest pile of resources, economy, tech and living standards anywhere: America should rock) - the isolationist snarly presidents are scared of something.

That's what's refreshing: he's not frightened to engage.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

But will it have any effect on the voter back home? How - to use the cliché - will it play in Peoria? I can see an ornery bunch who'd vote for McCain simply because they don't like being told by fags in France how to vote. Pretty sure that they're in the minority, mind, but I'm a worry-wart 'cos as one of the Rest Of The World, I really really really don't want another crusty old hawkish cock on the button.