Obama Improves America's Image In The World

July 23. 2009

In what should not be surprising news, U.S. President Barack Obama, has improved America's image in the world, which after the damage Bush wrought, was no small feat.

Other nations, based on interviews and articles in the international press, had genuinely become suspicious, mistrusting and incensed with America, over George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's open defiance of international and domestic law.

The war for oil in Iraq, outraged and appalled many. Bush's Gitmo and renditions, trespassed and stepped on the toes of many world governments. He started off with some humility, then his arrogance and insolence towards others in the world and in America, grew by leaps and bounds.

It created a lot of ill will in the world, that is dangerous to everyday Americans. The Bush administration became so sinister and created so much anti-American sentiment in the world, as a U.S. citizen travelling abroad, one would be in for a world of abuse, pardon the pun. In some regions of the world that were once friendly, people wanted Americans dead.

With the introduction of Obama on the foreign stage and goodwill gestures he has made in the world, quite a few disillusioned hearts have melted.

They may not share the same political views, but the mere fact someone is treating them like a human being and is not speaking to them like they are subhuman, even shaking their hand, goes a long way. He is off to a good start in this endeavor.

Obama repairs US image abroad

July 23, 2009 11:20 AM - President Obama's poll rating may be slipping at home, but his popularity abroad is already repairing the image of the United States, which took a beating during the Bush administration.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project reported today that that favorability ratings for the US among people around the globe have improved markedly, recovering in many countries to the point before George W. Bush took office and began the highly unpopular war in Iraq.

"Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings for both the nation and the American people have soared. But opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well," says the project, which surveyed 25 nations this spring.

http://www.boston.com

Global Views of U.S. Helped by Obama, Survey Says

Published: July 23, 2009 - WASHINGTON — A new global survey has found a vast improvement in views of the United States since the election of President Barack Obama. But it also finds broad opposition to one of his key policies — sending more troops to Afghanistan — and confirms a drop in confidence in the United States among Israelis.

http://www.nytimes.com

Poll: US image abroad surges under Obama

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's popularity has boosted America's image abroad even though deep suspicions about the U.S. persist in the Muslim world, according to a poll released Thursday.

The survey of two dozen nations conducted this spring by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that positive public attitudes toward the United States have surged in many parts of the world since Obama's election.

Positive opinions about the United States have returned to higher levels not seen since before President George W. Bush took office in 2001. The Bush presidency marked a steep decline in U.S. popularity overseas, notably after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, because of a perception that the post-9/11 war on terrorism was targeted at Muslims.

"The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world, reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama," the center said in its annual Pew Global Attitudes Report.

The only exception was Israel, where attitudes toward the U.S. have dipped since Bush left office.

The improvements "are being driven much more by personal confidence in Obama than by opinions about his specific policies," Pew reported.

At the same time, several specific administration policies drew near universal acclaim, including Obama's pledge to close the Navy-run detention facility for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the U.S. timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, the survey found.

http://www.google.com