The Race for US President: As Seen Around The World

How the Presidential Campaign Is Being Viewed Around the World

This article brings up many important points. Though it doesn’t mention the popular “everyone outside the US is voting for Obama” YouTube comments, both of the candidates running for president have had very constrained discourse about foreign policy. For instance, in the most recent presidential debate, whose focus was intended to be foreign policy, there were more than 10 minutes devoted to domestic issues, education in particular. The number of countries Romney, Obama, and moderator Bob Schieffer felt compelled to mention was rather limited. Middle Eastern countries were discussed as sources of terrorism, the Arab Spring was mentioned a couple of times, and China’s firm grip on American money and products was addressed. However, having watched the debates, I feel that the government’s support of Israel was discussed so much, both candidates may be sporting I Heart Israel t-shirts by the end of their campaign trails. And Romney’s Cold-War-esque fear of Russia was one of the more humorous moments of the debate.

But perhaps this limited portrayal of the world through the American lens was justified. What do you think? Did the candidates address the issues they should have? What would you think of them if you lived in another country?