Obama and Liberal Cities in Europe (health insurance, camps, taxes)

[imaterry78259]

How do European , Middle Eastners and Asian feel about Obama being President of the USA. What city in Europe or Asia is liberal and open minded besides Paris. Berlin and Tokyo

[Atlantasfinest]

The people I've met in The Czech Republic and they all want Barack Obama to become President. I've been there twice over the past year...I believe this has to do with them opposing the war and hating George Bush so Barack Obama represents change and a different face of a changing America that's good for them and overall world peace.

Have you noticed in almost every country that George Bush visits there are large scale protests? That tells you right there that they don't have a high opinion of him or his clone(John McCain) who would continue on his world policy.

[Stefan_from_Germany]

I just read an article in the International Herald Tribune about other countries' feelings concerning the US predidential elections.

While W.'s style has put off most of the world and hasn't done the US's reputation much good, most people want their countries to have a good relationship with America.

Most Europeans prefer Obama by a big margin. Just like for many Americans he stands for change and a break from the old. He comes across as an intelligent and inspiring politicians who stands out from the rest of the political crowd.

Mc Cain is little known outside the US and his veteran status means more to Americans than to Europeans.

I guess you could say that most of Europe is more "liberal" than most of America. We are more used to "big government", high taxes but also good social security, health insurance etc.

Interestingly the term "liberal" is used in quite a different way here in Germany. We have two big parties, the Cristian Democratic Union, CDU (the conservatives, who are not christian fundametalists, though. It's just a name) and the Social Democratic Party, SPD, who are not socialists but traditionally have a working class following (unions etc).

Now, one of the other parties is the Free Democratic Party (FDP) that call themselves "The Liberals" but are opposed to big government and believe mostly in free market econmy etc.

Then there are the "Greens" who have been getting about 10% of votes in recent years.

Hope this helps a little.

[Mooseketeer]

I don't think I have met anyone in Europe yet who isn't behind Obama for President.
Stefan summed it up perfectly.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

Have you noticed in almost every country that George Bush visits there are large scale protests? That tells you right there that they don't have a high opinion of him or his clone(John McCain) who would continue on his world policy.

What it tells me is that the biased Libral media has done a great job of demonizing Bush, the war, and basically any policy he stands for.

It never ceases to amaze me the level of bias towards America and its president.

Essentially, what I hear from some of our more solialized nations, or even boarderline dictatorships, is...elect a president that will reflect our values instead of yours.

This election will set the record streight. Obama will NOT be president.

If the country was truely looking for change...try voting for a 3rd party candidate..like a Liberatarian.

[Rexor]

McCain's position would be slightly stronger in post-communist nations since a lot of people here still appreciate the vigorous anti-communist rhetoric associated with Ronald Reagan and, generally, with GOP. Obama would still be the winner though.
Honestly, I cannot imagine a candidate with McCain's military background to be a serious
contender in a hypothetical European presidential elections, as the anti-military resentment
is VERY strong in most parts of Europe. Europeans would never elect a candidate who was singing about bombing other countries. No way.

[SWISS1]

It seems like EVERYONE in Europe loves Obama.

[Stefan_from_Germany]

Originally Posted by flycessna

What it tells me is that the biased Libral media has done a great job of demonizing Bush, the war, and basically any policy he stands for.

It never ceases to amaze me the level of bias towards America and its president.

Essentially, what I hear from some of our more solialized nations, or even boarderline dictatorships, is...elect a president that will reflect our values instead of yours.

This election will set the record streight. Obama will NOT be president.

If the country was truely looking for change...try voting for a 3rd party candidate..like a Liberatarian.

Hi flycessna (I suppose you are a fellow aviator),

I am sorry but I would have to disagree with your statements. First, I think it is wrong to accuse the "liberal" media of demonizing Bush. In Europe, TV news are a lot less biased than in the US. In Germany for example, we don't have an equivalent of Fox news, who are clearly biased. Here we have public and private stations. The public ones are funded by mandatory fees (and limited comercial ads) and do a very good job at reporting facts. They are neither left or right. If Bush says something, they report it. If other leaders react to it, they report that, too. That's it. No lobbying from big companies and no political influence either. There will be comnentaries at times, but they are clearly "labeled" as such and only reflect individual views.

In my job I travel a lot. I also have satelite TV at home. That means I can get my news from different sources. I watch CNN, BBC, German and other news channel in an attempt to get a balanced view. Now, how many people in the US do that? A lot of people have a political orientation and tune in to the programs that tell them what they want to hear. Then they complain that the other outlets are biased...

Are a ot of people here opposed to Bush? Absolutely! Do we view going to war more critical than a lot of Americans: I think so. There are good reasons for that. If you are a citizen of the most powerful nation in the world, you are propably less worried about your president claiming that your country should be the rolemodel for the rest of the world.

The biggest wars in this and the last century were not fought on American soil. That makes a big difference. Yes, America sends soldiers that risk their lives for their country. So Americans feel they need to support their troops. That is understandable. But it does not mean these soldiers are going to war for the right reasons. And it must be ok to question those reasons and the leaders that make those decisions. Here in Europe, millions of civilians died during the world wars and felt the devestating effects of war first hand. That is probably one of the reasons why we have a different view when it comes to going to war or supporting our leaders' decisions to go to war.

Critizising the bush administartion is not anti american. But give me a break about bringing democracy to Iraq. There are lot's of places in the world with dictators at least as cruel as Saddam and people leading a much worse lifestyle than most Iraqis did before the war. Just look at Africa for example.

And the terrorists: Well, the highjackers were Saudis, a very important trade partner for (or shall I say investor in) America.

The terrorist camps are in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But the war is fought mainly in Iraq. Why? We all know the answer to that one. So shouldn't it be in the interest of a country to make sur their troops risk their lives for the right reasons...?

So, is it really a surprise that Obama is more popular here than Bush? I think not!

Is he going to win? Who knows. I certainly hope so.

[imaterry78259]

In America,Germans are still our largest nationality which accounts for over 80 million Americans of German descent. based on this German and America tiews will be stronger

[ktalley]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

How do European , Middle Eastners and Asian feel about Obama being President of the USA. What city in Europe or Asia is liberal and open minded besides Paris. Berlin and Tokyo

hehe, about all of them. And ANYBODY is better then BUSH