Quote:
Originally Posted by redbreegull
Bush's idea of diplomacy was bullying the US' friends and allies and straining ties going back centuries, so I still think Obama is quite different and this drives conservatives nuts. They hate the idea of a US president acting humbly, and not like a morally didactic vigilante cowboy, and make up lies like the "apology tour." Now I don't live outside the US, but my impression is that people abroad see Obama as having turned around what the US stands for worldwide since the disastrous Bush years. Is this untrue in your opinion, Morlock? Serious question. I've only been to a few places outside the US, a few in southern Europe and a few in Africa, but most people seem to really love Obama and think of the US in much more positive terms now that evil bullying war mongering George Bush is gone.
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In Europe, and as far as I can see in most of the world outside the US, Obama is much more popular than Bush was. After four years Europeans are less excited, but polls in Germany suggest that more than 90% prefer Obama over Romney (the US elections were all over the media). However, people here are less excited after four years (so are the president's supporters in the US I guess), and in much of the Middle East Obama has become very unpopular. I wouldn't say it goes that far that Obama managed to change the perception of "what the US stand for".
So I generally agree with your post. Obama does represent the US much more effectively than Bush did. It's just that the policies beyond communication and representation are not very different from Bush's IMO.