BARACK OBAMA HAS CAPTIVATED THE WORLD
By Borzou Daragahi, [email protected]
Los Angeles Times
June 5 2008
CA
Newspaper front pages and TV newscasts feature photos and footage of
‘the political giant slayer,’ who is intensely popular across the
globe. But not everyone is pleased with all his positions.
BEIRUT — No one’s tossing confetti or releasing balloons, but
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s ascent to likely Democratic Party presidential
nominee has captivated many of those watching the American political
contest abroad.
Newspaper front pages and television newscasts throughout the world
Wednesday featured photographs and footage of the smiling Illinois
lawmaker, who a day earlier clinched the Democratic nomination by
winning enough delegates to edge out Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The conservative French daily Le Figaro described him as "the man
in a hurry who dethroned Hillary." The left-leaning London-based
Guardian called him "a political giant slayer" who defeated his own
party’s entrenched interest. And in Mexico, an editorial cartoon
in the daily Reforma depicted him as a Christ-like figure atop the
Democratic donkey on Palm Sunday.
"Obama’s America on the doorstep of history," said a headline on the
front page of As Safir here in Lebanon.
Obama remains intensely popular throughout the world. According to
a poll released this week by the pan-Arab Qatar-based Al Jazeera
news channel, more than half of those interviewed in 22 countries
preferred Obama over Clinton or Republican John McCain, who was the
least recognized and least preferred presidential candidate.
Even in stridently anti-American Iran, state-controlled television
showed video of Obama making a speech behind a lectern bearing a
placard reading "Change."
"It’s a matter of the heart. It’s a matter of affiliation," said Radwan
Abdullah, a professor of international relations at the University
of Jordan in Amman. "He’s a minority African American from the Third
World. He was the underdog. People identify with his type."
Still, some analysts expressed concern about Obama’s foreign policy
positions. In Turkey, some worried about his support for Armenians,
who are locked in a dispute with Turks over the Armenian genocide of
the early 20th century. There has been some nervousness in Tokyo about
whether Obama’s criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement
hints at possible trade disputes for Japan’s export-dependent
economy. Many Israelis worry that Obama has been too willing to
negotiate with the Jewish state’s enemies, especially Iran.
Some Israelis were heartened by remarks he made Wednesday at a
conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where
he declared his willingness to confront Iran and support a unified
Jerusalem as capital of Israel, a position that appeared to go beyond
even the Bush administration’s position on Jerusalem.
"He said all options for dealing with Iran are on the table, which
means he would negotiate but there would still be a credible military
threat," said Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center,
an independent Israeli think tank.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Obama’s support
of a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
"The whole world knows that East Jerusalem, holy Jerusalem, was
occupied in 1967, and we will not accept a Palestinian state without
having Jerusalem as the capital," Abbas told reporters in the West
Bank city of Ramallah.
Obama’s newcomer status has also caused doubt among some trying to
gauge his positions on various issues.
"Obama is not a well-established politician," said Abul-Fazel Amoee,
a Tehran political scientist close to Iran’s conservatives. "He
comes out of the blue sky. Obama’s slogans are ambiguous and may
change. Obama is not coming from a family like the Kennedys. He seems
open to pressures."
Despite such concerns, people marveled at Obama’s rise and considered
it a U.S. milestone. Al Jazeera devoted an hour Wednesday night to
a discussion about his prospects.
"The fact that he become the candidate of the Democratic Party
proves that there is a change in the public opinion in the U.S.,"
said Ghassan Ezzi, professor of political sciences at the Lebanese
University in Beirut. "He said that he was ready to talk to [Iranian
President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad. This shows a lot of courage. It’s
like saying I am ready to talk to the devil."
For many, Obama’s rise is a global event, regardless of the outcome
in November.
"I’m hugely aware of what his achievements mean for the wider world,
way beyond America," said David Lammy, a British lawmaker who, like
Obama, is of African descent. "It’s a huge achievement to come from
a place where very few people believed he would be on the ticket."
Even if he loses the presidential election to McCain, he’s already
won, said an editorial in the English-language Khaleej Times, a daily
based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
"If McCain is America’s past," it said, "Obama is its future."