The World Weighs In

Major media outlets and resources have, of late, taken notice of the international focus on the election and the international response to the win of Senator/President-elect Barack Obama.

Here are several interesting takes on the issue:

-From The Huffington Post, “International Reaction to Obama’s Presidential Election” is a compilation of responses from media sources around the world, with views on Obama’s election varying from exubertant to reserved to hopeful.

see:     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/international-reaction-to_n_141278.html

-Also from The Huffington Post is “Reactions Around The World (PHOTOS)”, a slideshow of 30 images of people’s reactions around the world to Obama’s election.

see:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/reactions-around-the-worl_n_141187.html

At Obama's former school in Jakarta, Indonesia (from The Huffington Post)

-From NPR, “World Welcomes Obama’s Win” is a 17-minute story on how “the U.S. presidential election touched hearts and minds not only in America, but also overseas.”

see:     http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96663813

-From the BBC, “President Obama and the World” is an article on how Obama’s election is changing America’s image abroad. It also focuses on the high expectations this election has set for a President Obama.

see:   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7708893.stm

Tags: Afghanistan, Australia, Chicago, England, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, israel, London, Moscow, New York, NPR, The Huffington Post

Below are quotes from an interview I conducted a few weeks ago with 26-year old Israeli student Tomer Perry, currently studying PP & E (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at the Hebrew University. These are solely the views of an individual, yet they express  (to a degree) what Tomer, his friends, and his wider community expected from and saw in the election. Enjoy!

On which candidate is (generally) preferred

“I think that on broader, national level…I would say with caution that McCain is preferred…[mostly due to him being] a continuation of this policy - a conservative who will fight terrorism and understand the situation of Israel. I say that because of the way that bigger news sites and papers cover the election…The tone has lessened, though. Most of my friends [and I], as some left wing commentators, prefer Obama by a large margin.”

On the reaction to the nomination of Sarah Palin

“Well, Tina Fey has also become popular through her here…I think that some people who didn’t have a strong opinion went against McCain due to the choice he made in her. In the media, at large, I’m not sure that there’s such a strong sentiment against her but they cited extensively the ridicule they made of her after the [Katie] Couric interviews.”

Views of the nature of the American political process/this campaign

“My exposure to the crazy nature of these elections started when I was invited by an American friend of mine to stay up all night and watch some primary results coming. It was 4am, I had school the next day and I was really amazed to see how all my American friends, who happened to be here, spent all their time and energy devoted to the election. They even made calls to potential Pennsylvanian voters to convince them to vote. From here!

General Opinions

“I think that these elections are quite remarkable. As a political science student, I am very interested to see the American system being reinvented, energized, and transformed over this election; it’s really challenging itself. It’s generally supposed that change is not really possible in such a conservative system though there’s definitely many renovations in this election and it is exciting to watch it live. Regarding its significance to the world and america - it is very significant. The stature of the US in the world has greatly diminished in the last 8 years, it’s been entangled in two wars, and it’s [now] leading the world economical crisis. It seems that its position as the world super power is threatened and it is not obvious that it will remain in that position in 5-10 years. The two candidates have very different world views and I think that they will deal with those challenges quite differently. Regarding Israel - I don’t think there will be a significant difference in their policy. It seems that both republican and democrats have a similar attitude towards Israel and its role in the Middle East (note the similarity between the Bush and Clinton administration in that respect) and the differences would probably be minor and negligible.”

Tags: israel, student

The Economist has this interesting interactive map of who “the world” would vote for if they could (aka the “Global Electoral College”). Check it out at: http://www.economist.com/vote2008/

Tags: global electoral college, the economist

Over the past week, I have been talking with members of the Yale community who have an international perspective on the U.S. Presidential Election. Aside from expressing definite interest in the election, the people I have interviewed share another common quality: that of white noise.

This white noise term refers to the more tangential aspects of the election. Many Americans devote time and attention to these issues that are perceived abroad as “meaningless or distracting commotion, hubbub, or chatter”—inconsequential, petty, and trivial.

Though only a few examples of white noise are covered in the post below, many exist and range from issues of demonstrated patriotism (i.e. wearing, or not wearing, an American flag lapel pin) to issues of a more personal nature (i.e. how much the Obamas are worth, Bristol Palin’s pregnancy, etc.).

Continue Reading »

Tags: England, Ghana, guns, Hong Kong, obama, palin, race, religion, white noise

Welcome to The World Weighs In: International Perspectives on the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, a blog of The Yale Globalist. My name is Jeania Ree Moore and, through this blog, I am examining international perspectives on the election of America’s 44^th President. This election, due to its timing, its candidates, and its very nature, is garnering attention not just throughout America but throughout the world.

Tags: election 2008