August 8, 2008

Obama Outside the United States

By Michael J. Economides
It is clear that this US presidential election has brought to the surface a bunch of lingering issues inside the country: racial, class and gender stresses. Even more starkly it has rekindled emotions outside the US, affecting how the world views America, from presumably allied countries in Europe to the developing world and, especially the Muslim world.   It is amazing how quickly the mind gets cleared of American TV and internet chatter after a business trip to Europe with an added leg in the Middle East. For starters, we may be complaining about the cost of everything in the US, but that becomes preposterous once you find out that $500 in London and Pairs goes about as much as $100 in almost all US cities. In Moscow a decent hotel can set you back $750 per night.   Then, sitting in the airport departure lounge of a major Arab country and watching Al Jazeera, considered the unbiased and open Arab TV network, one cannot help but detect the transparent hope for a Barack...(Read Full Article)