I'll take your word on Austria RR.I really don't know much of it's politics. I guess there are racists and haters everywhere.
Anyway, I was listening to NPR last week while driving home from work. They were talking to people from other countries. The only person I can say I heard of was an Archbishop Tutu from Africa. I don't remember who the others were.
Anyway, I won't go into detail, but EVERYONE of them had nothing but praise from Obama. Some things they were saying actually brought a lump to my throat, when they spoke of their hope of change. One said, "we always looked up to America as the leader....now we can again."
They took calls as well, one that stands out and a lady who called from Ireland who said, "can we borrow him for just a day? If for no other reason than his inspiration.
TIS
Had a Canadian friend who was remarking to me how his countrymen were more excited about the Obama election than they were of their own elections they held several weeks back.
Hell, its been a week since the Election, and its just damn weird how since that night, people not just at my Campus but in the locality itself seem much happier, not as grouchy as usual in the cold winds of November. Maybe its because of most of the folks who I hang around with, or that the 20+month election season was finally over, or something...
But TIS, remember that Reagan 1984 campaign ad "It's Morning in America Again"?
After Vietnam and Watergate and Jimmy Carter, President Reagan's campaign successfully put out the idea that the sun is up again for America. Well, after the last 8 years, maybe the sun is back up for the good ole US of A once again.
You know I'm not as much of a global appeaser like most liberals are, but unlike my fellow Conservatives, I do think that external opinions and thoughts do influence us Americans on the world stage in the grand scheme of things this side of the Systems Theory.
With Dubya so hated, fairly or not, because of Iraq and what not, along with the fact that Obama will probably be our most liberal President in some 40 years........a factor considering most European Conservatives are more liberal than our own conservatives.....
Or hell, probably because he'll be the first "Celebrity" President since JFK, that is this side of a movie or music star, brings genuine apeshit excitement from people surrounding him....and arguably might bring "pimp cool" back to the White House.
Plus, he's new. Bill Clinton was new too in 1992, but that vibe died off as quickly as his botched First 100 Days, and Europe will realize in 2009 that Obama isn't as Liberal as they think he is.
Or maybe not, I don't know.
I just think it was nice back in the summer with Obama's Berlin speech, when you had 200,000+ Germans waving American flags....which I must say, I can't remember the last time that many Europeans in an European city carried that many USA flags at one time without burning them.
