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Polls: Europe Hearts Obama
It's too bad for Barack Obama that European countries don't have electoral votes -- a new set of polls from Gallup shows that he'd win by a landslide:
United Kingdom: Obama 60%, McCain 15%.
France: Obama 64%, McCain 4%.
Germany: Obama 62%, McCain 10%.
The Telegraph also reports that one third of the Conservative Party members of Parliament support Obama.
We can gather a few things from this. First, Obama is going to get a really big crowd when he speaks in Berlin. Second, there really may be something to the narrative that he can restore America's relations with other countries.
And finally, this gives the GOP more fodder for its coming attack ads charging that our European allies like Obama.
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You're being snarky when you say this, but I expect you can count on these numbers being turned into something like this: "Obama seems more interested in being prime minister of Europe than President of the U.S."
The fact that there is no such thing as prime minister of Europe is irrelevant, as is the fact that John McCain appears to be deeply confused about the time line of the surge.
As the Reuters reporter on MSNBC told me this morning, voters just don't care about reality.
July 23, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Meanwhile McCain runs around politicizing the Holocaust:
http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/07/mccain-exploits-holocaust-as-political.html
July 23, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
But wait...that would go against their meme that he's a protectionist!
July 23, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
They're planning for a million people in Berlin. That is just insane.
July 23, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
These are better numbers than in the US. Obama becomes another from the long list of African American icons more appreciated across the Atlantic than he ever will be at home.
July 23, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's because 33% of the electorate are uninformed idiots with subpar education.
July 23, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man:
Why, in MY DAY we didn't have these namby-pamby Europeans fawning all over our politicians. Nossir! Our US politicians were despised by the Europeans and all the other foreigners around the world as trigger-happy, arrogant blowhards ... and we LIKED IT!
July 23, 2008 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
The GOP's going with "see he hates your values" - the Old Freedom Fries meme?
I really don't think it matters what they do Eric
July 23, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Still NOTHING about CBS and McCain? This is rather incredible. If they had done something like this for Obama's benefit, McCain and the MSM would be going bezerk. But when McCain does it . . . nada, nathan, nothing.
July 23, 2008 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's amazing, isn't it?
MSNBC did cover it, but it was dismissed as something that wasn't very important to the voters.
The voters aren't going to hear about it, which will guarantee that it won't be important.
If Obama had said what McCAin said, it would be 24 hours of coverage.
And the McCain campaign says the media is biased.
Up is down. Black is white. Or, as some other commenter said once, Fred is the new Ginger.
Send an e-mail to CBS News about this, asking them to make an on-air correction of McCain's statement.
Here's what I sent:
Dear CBS News.
I hope, for the sake of integrity, that Katie Couric corrects, on air, the patent falsehood John McCain told last night.
The Anbar awakening happened some five months prior to the surge, not after, as McCain mistakenly argued, and Couric did not challenge.
CBS News should be embarassed. I hope, for the sake of the network, given its storied past, that Ms Couric has the integrity to point out this rather surprising mistake on the part of John McCain. Otherwise, the impartiality of CBS will be greatly called into question.
Thank you,
Address: evening@cbsnews.com
July 23, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ben Smith has a (pathetic) response from CBS. Short anwer: They edited for time.
July 23, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, it was the result of incompetence. That makes it less surprising that they're working for McCain.
July 23, 2008 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
excellent job CT voter!
July 23, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a gesture of goodwill, we should grant people of the UK, France, and Germany honorary U.S. citizenship with full voting privileges for one day next November.
July 23, 2008 12:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent!
July 23, 2008 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Andrea Mitchell, that's a problem for Obama:
http://strategy08.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/gallup-obama-crushing-mccain-in-europe/
July 23, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
But isn't everything a problem for Obama. I mean, I just wrote a quote from the London Times on "First Read" today that re-iterated Obama's problems attracting Jewish voters because, you know, getting 60+% of them in poll after poll is definitely a problem.
Next up, "Why can't Obama win over the white supremacist/KKK voters?"
July 23, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I saw that same analysis on FirstRead, and my jaw dropped. That's "alarming" for Obama, evidently, because it's not as high as the support for Democrats in the past.
Unfreakingbelievable.
July 23, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
In other words, red states? Americans who are suspicious of people from places they can't locate on a map, if they owned a map, which they don't, on account of it wouldn't fit in the El Camino anyway.
July 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric, you and Greg keep capitalizing and setting in italics the leading article in newspaper titles (e.g. you write "The Telegraph" instead of "the Telegraph"). This is offensive to the senses and a crime against typesetting; please remedy.
July 23, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was watching Katie Couric and her interview with Obama where she tried to play a coy gotcha game about the surge. For someone who is supposed to be gaga over Obama, she sure threw him under the bus for the old man I guess. They also played and showed a bit if the Obama Love commercial in the background of the show, but I don't think they explained anything about what it was about. I was thinking about a comparable ad for Barack, using the the soundtrack for "Johnny Angel" by Nannette Fabray from the Donna Reed show, using clips of McSame. They had a funny version of the tune on Youtube.
July 23, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Andrea Mitchell everything is a problem for Obama..she was looking like death over there in Jordan last night reporting and she kept sneaking little comments about all that could backfire from his intelligent, strong press conference....once she makes it to his IQ level, maybe I'll start listening to her...
meanwhile, that was to be expected in Europe, and after his brilliant performance, so far, during his trip, the reception will be overwhelming, he will be received like he IS the President
that will piss off some for sure and yes, will trigger some low end attacks...
but I don't think it will damage the success of his trip and the perception of Obama that it will have achieved....
July 23, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
but during her questions to Obama at his press conference, did anyone notice her reaction to the weather over there...it was rather "nippy" or least her nipples reacted that way. Check out the video and see what I mean...just had to add this since any serious discussion of her "credibilty" is a joke as a journalist!
July 23, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
actually, I saw that too !!!! LOL
she is a total joke , and so, so painful
July 23, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was the first thing that attracted me to his candidacy. I really don't think the "freedom fries" issue will be problem this time around. I think most people are ready to look better in the eyes of the world than we do now.
Once again, the GOP is totally deaf, blind and dumb.
July 23, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think there is a whole different quality to Obama's popularity in Europe that will defuse the backlash. It was pretty easy to paint Kerry as an elitist--he speaks French, married an heiress, and lives in Massachusetts, for God's sake!
Americans might hate effete Europeans, but we love to be adored, and deep down we do want the world to like and respect us. Huge crowds, maybe a few American flags, foreign leadrs who don't look embarrassed to be standing next to him (contra Bush)--it's just going to feel good to people seeing those things splashed across TV screens.
July 23, 2008 1:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hearby declare Obama's trip to be a huge success.
Thanks to John McCain for helpfully suggesting the idea.
July 23, 2008 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is why A REPUBLICAN Goverment would never want it's citizens to have socialized education...they would be to smart to vote for a republican. Case in point, Europe. Socialized Education means smarter people which mean less bull shit can be spread because people are to smart and see it for what it is...bull shit.
Are Europeans that much smarter then us...I think so, why else would we have elected the same idiot twice?
July 23, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not necessarily smarter - definitely better educated.
July 23, 2008 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn him for being liked in other countries! (snark)
After 8 years of Bush, and most of those 8 being the laughing stock of the planet, I do not understand some of these tabloid journalists and TV pundits talking about this like its a bad thing.
It's a no-win. If they were protesting him like they do Bush, THAT would be the focus. If they celebrate him then of course there has GOT to be something wrong with that.
I heard Andrea Mitchell (ugh) talking about the possibility of resentment here in the states if it seems like Obama is popular with Europeans. Why? He wasn't the complete idiot that was out there wanting to rename french fries to FREEDOM fries.
It's like a schoolyard and they are all jealous of the new kid. Pathetic.
July 23, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am of French ancestry and the deep anti-French bigotry that was embodied by Freedom Fries and was such a gold mine for Bush's ignoramous-class of supporters is still out there.
People will complain when they see Europeans going nuts for Obama, and will revert to their utterly asinine blaming of the French for doubting that Saddam organized 9/11. So they'll get the de-rigeur xenophobic/Francophobic abuse of their chests. But I agree: when they see how a candidate can make the hated, inscrutable foreigners love Americans, they may curse out loud, but inside they'll be affected. And if they are Republicans, they'll be more likely to stay home if it rains on election day. Also if it's a bit cloudy.
July 24, 2008 4:21 AM | Reply | Permalink