Guardian columnist and veteran reporter Jonathan Steele pennedan opinion piece on Wednesday about how Barack Obama, unlike the other Presidential candidates understand the American image problem. Although it was published one day before President Bush's veiled jab at Obama's open approach to conducting diplomacy with enemies, the commentary unintentionally comes to the Senator's defense: “…The Republican nominee John McCain accuses Obama of […]
Zogby International and the University of Maryland's Shibley Telhami conducted a poll last month of 6 Arab publics: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Not surprisingly, the poll reveals negative attitudes toward the US. The pollsters also took this opportunity to gauge these publics’ opinion on the US Presidential election. Reuters reports […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/tnjKmpIlFn8″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Senator Obama has inspired yet two other musical cultivations, both coming from the Caribbean. The Mighty Sparrow, a Caribbean-American of of Grenadian/Trinidadian origin known as the “Calypso King of the World,” composed a song praising Obama. In the song, titled “Barack the Magnificent,” Sparrow sings: "Barack! Barack! He is fighting for openness […]
Lisa Mullins of Public Radio International's “The World” program spoke with Mohamad Manzarpour of the BBC's Persian Service on Iran's move to suspend talks about Iraq's regional security. Toward the end of the conversation Mullins asks Manzarpour about the Iranian public's reaction to Senator Clinton's recent remarks about what she would do as President if Iran […]
Do the mass media form or reflect public opinion? Specialists in these matters always answer "both," but in this election year it's critical to know which predominates. Take the Rev. Wright "issue." In the seven weeks since March 18th, when ABC-TV unveiled footage of Wright's most notorious quotes, the media have incessantly declaimed on behalf […]
NAFSA: Association of International Educators is a non-profit, professional association of international educators dedicated to promoting international education in America and worldwide. US International education centers around two flows: foreign students travelling to the US to study and experience American life, and American students travelling abroad to study and experience living abroad. Recently, we have […]
These days, the two connected concerns of this blog — foreign opinion of the U.S. and how U.S. Presidential candidates would deal with it — are in the background while America struggles at home. The economy overshadows Iraq as America's chief concern. The dead-heat race for the Democratic nomination is in turmoil over the inflammatory […]
Michael Gerson, George W. Bush's former speechwriter, spent his twice-weekly Washington Post column this Friday offering advice to the next US President on the virtues of unilateralism. Gerson begins by tuning his argument to the conservative ear: “In their total war for the right to be dubbed the peace candidate Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack […]
This blog previously discussed Iranian President Ahmedinejad's preferred US Presidential candidate. Now, while presidential elections are underway in Iran and in the US (albeit with an election day much further down the road), and while these countries’ governments clash on the international political stage, who do the Iranian public want to see in the Oval office come January? […]
We may be witnessing the most unusual overseas public affairs climate for the United States in the modern era. One the one hand, public opinion regarding the United States is as low as at any time since the beginning of modern polling. On the other, there appears to be an unprecedented level of international interest […]
Last week American Abroad Media the American University, and WAMU (the Washington, DC NPR radio affiliate) arranged a match-up between the three US Presidential campaigns’ foreign policy advisors. Up for debate: The United States’ standing in the world. More specifically, how would each advisor's boss raise the US image out of the doldrums if he […]
I stumbled upon a website called “The World Wants Obama,” dedicated to documenting evidence of Senator Obama's support abroad (the group is also extensively on Facebook and YouTube). The group's manifesto is worth reading: “Although Americans have done many positive things around the world, the US government – once the champion of anti-colonialism and self-determination – […]
San Franciscans know that their politics are far from the ordinary, and most residents accept and defend their city's reputation for pushing the limits as an extension of free speech. Yesterday, however, the city had occasion not only to be liberal-minded but also smart. In one of his better decisions (and he's made several bad […]
If you were President of Iran, who would you most like in the Oval Office? There is, clearly, much up for discussion: Iraq, nuclear proliferation, economic sanctions, peace in the Middle East, the list goes on. Last month Iranian President gave us a glimpse of his preferences when he officially retracted his “alleged” support for […]
After five years of conflict, 4,000 U.S. military deaths, $800 billion in military spending, and tattered relations within what once was called the “coalition of the willing,” General David Petraeus told Congress today that the results of the “surge” in Iraq were “fragile and reversible.” His statement, replete with charts, was as candid and direct […]