Whether or not it helps him get elected, there can be no doubt that with his world tour, Barack Obama has succeeded in dramatically improving America’s image abroad – particularly in Europe.
In his editorial for Le Figaro, Pierre Rousselin offers us a French perspective on the trip.
In regard to whether Obama has the experience to lead, Rousselin writes:
“Reputed to be inexperienced because he only has three years of his term as senator behind him, the Democratic candidate has shown that he has no difficulty dealing with the international scene.”
On the issue of whether Obama has boosted America’s image, Rousselin continues:
“the enthusiastic welcome extended to him by 200,000 Berliners showed how much he has already contributed, solely by his presence at this stage in the presidential race, to restoring America’s luster. It’s been a long time since the United States benefited from such a public relations exercise overseas.”
But offering a word of caution to the young presidential aspirant, Rousselin writes:
“A superstar in Berlin, anointed in Paris, Barack Obama will have to come down to earth and plunge back into the election campaign. His European triumph won’t automatically make him the next president of the United States.”
EDITORIAL by Pierre Rousselin
Translated By Kate Davis
July 26, 2008
France – Le Figaro – Original Article (French)
Mission accomplished. Barack Obama returns to the United States having succeeded in his emergence into the wider world. Reputed to be inexperienced because he only has three years of his term as senator behind him, the Democratic candidate has shown that he has no difficulty dealing with the international scene.
Europeans, for their part, were able to verify for themselves the formidable effectiveness of the campaign of the first Black man to run for the presidency of the United States. The “Obamania” sweeping Europe has only been reinforced.
We must recognize that the charisma and seductive power he displayed in Germany brought to mind John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. But the comparison is misleading: although the two former heads of state wrote a page of history in Berlin, it was because they embodied the leading power on the planet, and at crucial moments during the Cold War.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election.
