Most of the world hated George W. Bush. It is pretty well known that most nations found our former president unpopular in regards to America’s economy and international involvement.
I believe that here in America many people celebrated on Inauguration Day and embraced Barack Obama just as much to rejoice the ending of Bush’s era.
It is safe to say that much of our country accepts Obama and finds him popular and favorable, but how about around the world in other nations? What are people college-aged saying about Obama in other countries? I had a chance to speak with a few college students from other nations and gather some feedback.
Business major Erik Benedik, 20, from Slovokia shared some his feelings and general opinion from his nation with me.
“The people expect a lot of things from Obama. For example, the ending of the Iraq war or better relationships with Russia, and also they think he could maybe find a solution for the economy crisis.”
Benedik feels most of the people in Slovakia and also in Eastern Europe think that Obama will be a good change for the rest of the world.
I’ve also spoken to many Western Europeans. For most, Obama’s popularity has crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Italian student Daniele Gerlin, 22, believes there is potential for this country with Obama in office, but he will not get his hopes up so fast just yet.
“I believe that he speaks very well, that he has very good ideas, but now he must demonstrate that these are not only words,” said Gerlin. “This period is not the best to demonstrate it. In Italy, all the statesmen think that he could change this period and that the relationships between the European states and USA will improve.”
Over my winter vacation I was traveling in Central America where many people had previously expressed their dislike for Bush.
To them, Obama seems like a hard worker and a great speaker.
I spoke with my cousin, Mainor Guerrero, a Honduran college student. Guerrero was very happy to see that America had finally chosen their first Black president and showed social advancement. He went enthusiastically to say in his Spanish accent “Obama is bueno!”
As an American this gives me hope as far as foreign relations go. Based on other feedback gathered from students of other cultures, Obama is expected to make many allies and repair the blemishes in our reputation across the world.
I think Benedik worded it perfectly when he wrote to me, “I think Obama is very popular because the people think he is an opposite from Bush.”
