At the Republican convention Condolezza Rice asserted that Obama had lowered the reputation of the U.S. around the world. Setting aside the irony of anyone from the second Bush adminstration being allowed to even talk about foreign policy, I was curious what the poll numbers were. In this clip from Slate, we get the poll numbers of what Europeans think about the US and Obama.

“According to a recent survey by the Poll Research Center, 53 percent of British citizens had a favorable view of the United States in 2008, the last year of Bush’s presidency. Today the figure is 60 percent. In France, the figure rose from 42 percent to 69 percent; the Czech Republic, from 45 to 54 percent; Germany, from 31 to 52 percent; Japan, from 50 to 72 percent; Mexico, from 47 to 56 percent. Only in the Arab countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan) has the rating declined (and do the Republicans really care much about that?).

Another Pew Poll, released just this week, about global attitudes toward President Obama as a leader makes Rice’s concerns seem ridiculous. As summarized by CNN, 87 percent of the Germans, 86 percent of the French, 80 percent of the British, and 74 percent of the Japanese have confidence in Obama—in each case, more confidence than they have in their own leaders. More striking still, 92 percent of the French, 89 percent of the Germans, 73 percent of the British, and 66 percent of the Japanese want Obama re-elected.” -Slate Magazine

I’m really curious what those poll numbers look like in South America, Asia or Africa. Does a Democratic or Republican president seem so different to those on the other side of empire? Do the areas that patrolled by US troops and drones care about the personality traits of the ones who have sent them?