As America’s global elections draw to a close, every news outlet and television network is reporting the polls with details similar to those given to national elections in their own countries.
The great excitement is about the possibility of a black politician rising to US President. Much less is being said about policy differences between the Obama-Biden and John McCain-Sarah Palin tickets.
It is hard to say whether this focus is a compliment to Americans or a comment on the widespread belief among non-Americans that the US is a country where race matters.
These would not be global elections with so many people glued to news sources if Obama were not black. If he is elected, most people would see the victory as a triumph of common sense and decency over narrow minded unfairness.
On the part of those who see beyond the race issue, there is a naïve expectation that that his election will foster a less belligerent world. It is as if the entire world’s people expect President Obama to save them from their worst tendencies, starting with armed conflicts and violations of human rights.
Business organizations in Europe and Asia are much less enthusiastic about Obama. They prefer McCain because they expect him to give more support to free trade than Obama.
McCain has significant support in Europe for other reasons as well. Many East and Central Europeans see him as a more stalwart friend capable of confronting resurgent Russia. He is also seen as a person with guts who is capable of intimidating financial institutions and speculators into accepting tough regulations to prevent another meltdown.
In effect, despite extravagant poll results outside the US in favor of Obama these global elections are as close a call for the candidates as in America.