Poll: 80% think world leaders respect Obama

[oldiebutgoodie]

"As Barack Obama takes off for his first overseas trip as president, a new national poll indicates that more than eight in ten Americans think he will do a good job representing the U.S. to the world," CNN reports. More:

And seven in ten people questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Tuesday, believe that leaders of other countries respect Obama.

That last figure is in sharp contrast with George W. Bush. At the start of his presidency in 2001, only 49 percent believed that foreign leaders respected Bush.

“Except for the period following the 9/11 attacks, that number never got any better for Bush,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Even among Republicans, a majority believes that other world leaders respect Obama."

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted March 12-15, with 1,019 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Americans also overwhelmingly endorse President Barack Obama's job performance and efforts to fix the US economy, according to another poll released Tuesday.

The survey by the Washington Post and ABC television found that two in three Americans approve of the way Obama is doing his job. Six in 10 specifically approve of his efforts to deal with the economic crisis.

The poll also indicated that the number of Americans who feel the country is headed in the right direction has roughly tripled since Obama's election.

But the poll noted that overall public mood remains dour, with 57 percent of respondents saying they consider the country as moving on the wrong track, and only about half of those polled saying they approve of how the president is dealing with the federal budget deficit.

The percentage of Americans who said the country is on the right track was just 42 percent, but the figure is the highest percentage in the past five years.

It marks a sharp uptick from just about six months ago, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction.

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[WhiskeyGirl]

I think the poll would be more meaningful if it was asking world leaders or citizens of other nations how they respected Obama.

From the UK -

Mr Obama seemed already convinced of his own place in history, telling reporters he had asked other G20 leaders whether they could have imagined 10, 20 or 30 years ago "a president of the United States named Obama".

His promise of American humility apparently didn't quite extend to himself as he pointed out to the press that the standing of the United States had already improved in the little over two months he had been in office.

"Although as you know, I always mistrust polls, international polls seem to indicate that you're seeing people more hopeful about America's leadership.

Soon, Mr Obama was engaged in something close to a stand-up comedy act, asking a Chinese questioner to come up with a pithy slogan for US policy towards his country because he couldn't think of one. "If you have any suggestions, let me know. I'll be happy to use them."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/g20-summit/5096453/G20-summit-We-did-OK-says-Barack-Obama.html

[oldiebutgoodie]

Europe gives Obama rock star-like welcome

STRASBOURG, France, April 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama was greeted like a rock star Friday in Strasbourg, France, the site of the 60th anniversary NATO summit.

People lining up Friday to see Obama near the Rohan Palace erupted in cheers when the president, accompanied by his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, approached the crowd to shake hands with them. A young woman, visibly excited, tried to hug and kiss the U.S. president.

After talks with Sarkozy, Obama addressed roughly 3,000 French and German students at a town hall-style meeting in Strasbourg. When he called for a "world without nuclear weapons," the crowd erupted in cheers and long applause.

To many Europeans, Obama represents a significant change from the previous president, who was widely unpopular in Europe.

"I like him, he is so charismatic, everybody likes him here," said Elise Peter, a 15-year-old student from Strasbourg, who had waited for hours in the concert hall to listen to the president.

Obama after the town hall meeting continued on to Baden-Baden, just across the border in Germany, where NATO leaders convene for a working dinner hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is Obama's first trip to Europe as president.

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[oldiebutgoodie]

REMARKS OF ANDREA MERKEL ON THE OCCASION OF HER JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA:

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL: [As translated] (JOINED IN PROGRESS) the front of the building. This time, I welcome him to the south of Germany on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of NATO.

And this is actually the first time that you visit the United States -- oh, sorry -- I mean, the Federal Republic of Germany, we're very pleased, very pleased, indeed, to be able to meet on this anniversary of NATO and to find a new format for this alliance.

In our talks, we were saying, again, that we have long traditional ties of friendship that join our two countries. I'm certainly sure that we will be able to continue that over the next few years to come.

We have actually talked about the whole broad area of conflicts issues that we need to contend with. We look back on London, which we considered both to be a very successful meeting.

The world has shown that it is willing to cooperate. Last, but not least, it was also a successful meeting because, clearly, the United States has shown that they are willing to cooperate, to show that spirit of cooperation.

I think that this is a common task indeed for us to shape also this alliance in this cooperative spirit, because this string in this trans-Atlantic relationship is also one that helps us to overcome the current financial and economic crisis.

The Federal Republic of Germany wants to give its contribution to overcoming international problems. We were dealing today with relations between Russia and the United States, how we can shape this future relationship between Europe and Russia and the United States.

We will have the upcoming summit in Prague between the European Union and the United States.

We will also, we think, on the bilateral (inaudible) be able to lend a contribution to solving the problems of Afghanistan. This is a big, a huge responsibility for all of us. We want to bear our burden of responsibility.

We want to do something in order to train the Afghan national forces, but also the police in Afghanistan.

We want to shape relations with Iran in such a way that a nuclear rearmament is simply made not possible, but that, at the same time, we make it possible for the Iranian people to have a hopeful and prosperous future.

We are very gratified to know that the United States wants to have a fresh beginning, a fresh start in this relationship.

We also talked about the Middle East, where the peace process will have to be pursued in the (inaudible) and in the direction of a two-state solution.

I think there is, indeed, a broad array of issues that we need to contend with. The Federal Republic of Germany stands ready to give its contribution towards solving them. And we would like to bid you a very warm welcome, indeed. I think you've seen that the press actually was showing a great deal of welcome to you, and you saw the people along the way who were waiting for you for many hours, with their little flags waving, and we're pleased to have you.

Welcome. We hope to welcome you again soon.

more...

[oldiebutgoodie]

Obama wows Europeans as Bush era is consigned to history

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - From cheering fans lining the streets to an adoring crowd packed into a sports arena, Obama-mania was in full swing in Europe on Friday.

The excitement generated by U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to both sides of the French-German border was a sharp contrast to the angry protests that often greeted his predecessor George W. Bush on trips to the continent.

"I wanted to tell you that your name in Hungarian means 'peach'," a girl from Heidelberg, Germany, gushed to Obama, at a townhall meeting.

The style and substance of Obama's tour were also different to Bush, who was unpopular among Europeans because of the Iraq war and a list of contentious policies.

While Bush usually confined his European itinerary to contacts with the political and business elite, Obama set out on Friday to hear the voices of ordinary citizens.

"What we thought was important was for me to have an opportunity not only to speak to you but to hear from you," he said in the French city of Strasbourg where he held a townhall-type meeting, a question-and-answer forum he used in the presidential campaign.

Obama made the case for more NATO help to win the war in Afghanistan, seeming to test whether his pop-star popularity could be leveraged into policy gains with European leaders.

Not everyone was convinced.

"It will take a lot more for us to believe the war in Afghanistan is worth it," said English teacher Stephanie Houley, 30.

HITTING THE RIGHT BUTTONS

From a stage at the Rhenus Sports Arena, he hit the right buttons for a European audience, admitting partial U.S. blame for the global economic crisis and promising a greater U.S. role combating climate change than Bush.

The crowd cheered when Obama spoke of his plan to close the internationally condemned U.S. military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and reiterated that torture would not be allowed on his watch.

MORE...

[oldiebutgoodie]

France -- And Its President -- Go Gaga Over Obama

STRASBOURG, France — France's president grins, schoolboy-like, as he welcomes Barack Obama to his country where Americans in recent years have not always felt so appreciated. An eager French colonel admonishes his men to keep their heads high as Obama strides past. Teenagers blush and beam at the chance to brush fingers with the American leader.

The French _ and especially their President Nicolas Sarkozy _ are clearly out to set aside past strains and please the Obamas on their first presidential visit.

[...]

The French-American relationship slowly has emerged from the chilly depths of 2003, when Paris under then-President Jacques Chirac led global opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq invasion.

Friday was Sarkozy's chance to prove that France is ready to move on.

When the two couples met for the first time, Sarkozy showed more emotion than the other three put together, slipping his arm around Obama's back and immediately employing the familiar "tu" form of addressing the American leader. Obama wrapped his arm around the French president in response, and they headed into their tete-a-tete.

[...]

There was plenty of spirit at a town hall meeting later in a sports arena in the French city of Strasbourg. The crowd, made up primarily of French and German high school students, exploded repeatedly in applause, and pressed to get a chance to see Obama up close as he navigated his way out.

[...]

Thousands of anti-NATO and anti-capitalist protesters were on hand to remind Obama that not everyone adores the United States and how it wields its global heft.

But in Strasbourg's streets, optimism and good will toward Obama persists.

[...]

Obama's next French test comes in June, when he comes for the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, where pro-American sentiment traditionally runs strong.

In a reminder of the history that binds their nations, Sarkozy promised Obama an "extraordinary reception" at the iconic, somber site where the tide of World War II shifted and "where so many young people from your country rest beneath the earth."

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