Obama's Tour

The current presidential campaign is probably one of the most interesting and unusual ones to have taken place in the United States.

Candidate Barack Obama was on an international tour through the Middle East and Europe (including Iraq and Afghanistan) that caused critics, undecided voters, and supporters to discuss avidly issues in the media.

To his supporters, Obama’s proposal aims at regaining the international diplomatic and political ground that the country lost due to the openly unilateralist attitude of the Bush administration. Democrats insist that it is possible to be the most powerful country in the world without necessarily being the most hated. In this sense, Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin opened with a phrase of great rhetorical power. In front of 200,000 young people of Berlin, Obama clearly said: “I come to Berlin, as so many of my countrymen have done before, not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen, a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.” It’s almost impossible to imagine Bush or McCain delivering the same phrase with an ounce of credibility.

Clearly Obama doesn’t have problems playing the visitor. The real challenge is at home, where many of his real voters care more about the Democratic candidate’s proposals in matters of the economy, health, or education. Repairing the international image of the United States would seem necessary, but it isn’t a priority objective for a good part of the United States electorate. John McCain completely understands this dynamic and for that reason attended a forum about cancer organized by cyclist Lance Armstrong’s foundation at the University of Ohio, while his contender left an “empty seat” that was registered in much of the media. The absence of Barack Obama made many people think, and disconcerted others.

Even more criticism rained down because recently, Republicans argue, Obama has been acting more like the President than a candidate. The charisma of the Democratic candidate is converting him into a kind of rock star and in that respect, the difference with McCain is enormous, such that the criticisms of the Republicans should not be surprising. The problem is that the situation is provoking tensions between the old supporters of Hillary Clinton that want less show and more politics in the traditional style. However, the unification of the party after a hard-fought battle between Clinton and Obama is still in motion and it’s natural that there are still hard feelings to overcome.

They don’t stop calling various things to attention. On one hand, the electoral battle threatens to become a tight race as time passes. In Ohio and Minnesota, two ‘undecided’ states —swing states—, Obama seems to be losing his lead. Additionally, a nationwide poll published by the Wall Street Journal (with NBC) revealed that 58% of voters identify themselves more with the values and origin of McCain, while a smaller 47% identified themselves with Obama. In other words, to be a ‘citizen of the world’ has its costs when playing locally.

On the other hand, it doesn’t stop being interesting nor can enough be said about the fact that while Obama goes to Europe and the Middle East, McCain travels to one of the only countries where one can speak of the ‘triumph’ of the international anti-terrorist crusade: Colombia. While Obama is allowed to summon the international community, from Berlin, to save a global battle against terrorism, for McCain the theme always is a burden that is linked almost automatically with the failures of the current President of the United States.

From now until November, when the winner will be known, many things can still happen. In fact, if the conflict in Iraq continues losing intensity, it’s likely that the situation will become more difficult for the Democrats. There are other variables that can cause unexpected fluctuations of the electorate, so it is still too soon to predict a winner.