Thursday, April 2, 2009

Obama Unlikely to Find a Quick Fix for U.S. Global Image




Pew Research
April 1


As Barack Obama travels through Europe on his first overseas trip as president, keep your expectations modest that this is the beginning of a major revival of America's global image.

No question that Barack Obama has a great personal following around the world, especially in comparison with President Bush. But to restore the global image of the nation he now leads, the new president must overcome a number of fundamental criticisms.

Judging from Pew Research's interviews with 177,000 people in 55 nations between 2002 and 2008, topping the list of carryover complaints is the charge that America too often acts unilaterally: that it doesn't take into account the interests of other nations in formulating policy. Closely linked to this critique is the view that the United States relies too much on military force to deal with international conflicts

Simply put, much of the world came to fear and resent the unrivaled power of that worrisome colossus, the United States.


Read the full report at PewResearch.org: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1175/obama-europe-trip-bush-legacy

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