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Old 11-19-2009, 02:55 PM
 
97 posts, read 397,183 times
Reputation: 96

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I was just sent an article supposedly written by a UK citizen claiming how an average person on the street over there views the US/Obama. To me it didn't really sound legitimate (I'm not a democrat either). But I've always been curious. What do you think about President Obama, his performance so far and the current U.S.?

Here's the article in case you want to skim it:

American Thinker Blog: A view of Obama from across the pond
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Old 11-19-2009, 03:20 PM
 
Location: England.
1,288 posts, read 3,311,349 times
Reputation: 1293
Most people here can't be bothered to vote in our own elections, never mind care what happens in a foreign country. For what it's worth (and point by point) I don't know anyone who calls him a dangerous wanker, or anyone who cares about the missile defence shield being scrapped. Sorry to say, but many do not appreciate American sacrifice in two world wars, and do not think of America as "the greatest force for good in the history of mankind". We laughed at the "mistreatment" of our lame duck Prime Minister. Most people couldn't tell you the current exchange rate or its consequences, and are well used to government spending more than it can afford (didn't Reagan and Thatcher have big deficits?). I don't personally know anyone who thinks in terms of "we in Europe". Anyone who says Obama is more left wing then European socialism, doesn't understand European socialism.

I have heard some cynicism about Obama backing down on election promises, and being unable to live up to the hype, but that was always going to happen. And he was always going to be prisoner of the mess made in Afghanistan. Speaking personally (and unlike the author I don't claim to speak for a whole country), I still have great hopes for his presidency, but will judge him by his actions and not his words. To be honest, the article sounds like it was written by someone more used to the American political idiom, than the British or European; probably the consequence of writing articles for a website called American Thinker. I can imagine American conservatives loving every word, and most Britons cringing. I certainly did.
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Old 11-20-2009, 02:30 AM
 
Location: England
3,263 posts, read 3,688,369 times
Reputation: 3256
The American Thinker is a daily conservative website & Dawsons article is a good example of the sort mis-leading rubbish that they publish.
During the presidential election this website was accused of trying to smear Obama, and articles from American Thinker are often mentioned on the Rush Limbaugh show.
I agree with Hengist I have never heard anybody on this side of the water insult Obama, but I've heard people praise him.
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Old 11-20-2009, 08:03 AM
 
Location: The Silver State (from the UK)
4,664 posts, read 8,218,540 times
Reputation: 2862
Totally agree with Hengist and Albion above - I don't know a single person here who thinks of Obama as dangerous or have I heard many negatives. This article is complete rubbish and is quite obviously written as a 'European' acceptance of the current right wing attack machine rhetoric in the United States.

The problems that Gordon Brown has had in dealing with the Obama administration are taken with a pinch of salt here and almost joked about in the press (although there is a growing belief that Obama doesn't really see the UK as an important ally in his global vision).

Overall, personally, I like Obama and I agree with the ideology he has laid down in his books and on the campaign. Wether or not he will be a successful president in the US remains to be seen, and will depend on both his leadership ability and in congress working effectively in passing legislation.
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Old 11-20-2009, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Oxford, England
13,032 posts, read 24,548,061 times
Reputation: 20164
In a year I have not heard one single negative comment about Obama. The vast majority of people I know regard Obama with a deep rooted respect for being willing to actually try and tackle a lot of social issues facing the US such as lack of access to healthcare. He is such a refreshing change from Bush and also a great contrast to our own lack-lustre politicians.

An intelligent , thoughtful man with integrity and able to put his hands up and say "sorry" something of a rarity in the world of politics. He seems extremely pro-active, vibrant and his election has once again giving back America a tad of credibility as to its world status.

Obama is not perfect, no man/ no politician ever will be. But he seems willing to try and do his best rather than simply reaching for a gun.

My only worry is that having been put on a pedestal by many people , he will be unable to fulfill everyone's wishes . The electorate is fickle and expects far too much from him, too quickly. After almost a decade of Bush it is going to take a long, long while for America to bounce back.

I do not know anyone left or right wing in this country who does not admire his leadership but only history will be able to tell how great a President he will be. Give the man some time. A year is nothing to sort out problems like a recession, and deep rooted social issues. Those things take time.

At least he is moving in the right directions. Europeans mostly seem to admire Obama , Russia apparently was the only Nation not particularily impressed with him. Putin has so much to be admired for obviously... not.

I personally very much agree with his ideology and most of his principles of governance and wish him all the very best. The US need something radical and Obama may be the best person for the job. I certainly hope he will succeed.

He is no messiah , but does appear to be a genuinely good man with a razor sharp intellect, educated and principled and a genuine interest in getting serious issues sorted out. Having a brain in US politics seem for some people a great problem and many would rather see morons like Palin in the WH.

He is obviousy scaring a lot of right wing people and I can't say it's a bad thing. Complacence is what got us into the financial troubles we are experiencing at the moment and the stables need a thorough clean.

My main criticism is that he does not go far enough.

For example him and Brown just *****-footed around with the banks instead of setting up a real reform of the way business is run . I found it odd that Merkel and Sarkozy the right wing "giants" of Europe were the ones trying to push for more serious reform of the banking and trading system for example. A bit topsy-turvy really.
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Old 11-20-2009, 09:23 AM
 
Location: SW France
16,544 posts, read 17,306,171 times
Reputation: 29769
The fact is that at the time of my posting this fifty have viewed the thread and four have posted.

I'd say most people don't care.
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Old 11-20-2009, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Rural Pacific NW
218 posts, read 577,329 times
Reputation: 168
I'm married to a Brit for 30 years, have close relatives in Scotland and England. They see O for the empty suit he is. A number of newspaper articles have hit the nail on the head where our U.S. papers are afraid to. Its the same as over here - half the people like that sort of silver-tongued fellow who says nothing but says it so well and half like substance. It all depends what circles you travel in what you hear.
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Old 11-22-2009, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Brighton, UK
116 posts, read 255,352 times
Reputation: 82
That article is absolute rubbish, and doesn't seem to me to capture the tone of our view of Obama. I think generally, people like him and appreciate the very difficult job he is doing. They respect him for closing down Guantanamo and for finally getting some universal healthcare (if it goes through). As to the bit where it said that he was more left wing than parties in Europe....that is absolutely delusional. In many ways he is right wing by European standards.
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