Obama Travels to a More Distant Europe

Barack Obama leaves tonight for Europe on a tour designed to convince the continent that it continues to be, in spite of flirtations with other emerging powers, the favorite of the United States. The trip will probably occur in a friendly atmosphere, and will demonstrate shared interests in dealing with the economic situation, as well as problems in the Middle East and Afghanistan. However, recent events, such as the death of Osama bin Laden and the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, also demonstrate that the gulf separating the two social models goes well beyond present disagreements.

Polls show that Barack Obama remains relatively popular in Europe, especially compared to his predecessor, George W. Bush. But the passion that accompanied him in his celebrated Berlin appearance in 2008 and the enthusiasm his election generated has dissipated. Increasingly, Europeans have begun to see him as a president more and more incapable of connecting with their real concerns. “Most Europeans want Obama to succeed. But they also want him to deliver on issues important to them. Yet on challenges ranging from climate change to data privacy and Guantánamo, the U.S. hasn’t necessarily obliged,” says Daniel Hamilton, director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins University.

Depite being the most European of recent U.S. presidents in governing style and ideological temperament, Obama still hasn’t managed to satisfy what European elites expect of him, not just in their approval, but also in their affection. His failure to close Guantánamo and the timidity of some of his reforms, such as in health care or finance, perhaps can explain in part this disenchantment. But only in part.

As essayist Tony Judt said shortly before his death, experience is showing that the U.S. and Europe “are not way stations on the same historical production line,” but rather, in reality “quite distinct places, very possibly moving in divergent directions.” It hasn’t always been so. Even now, there remain living Americans to tell of their heroic landing at Normandy or retain the memory of kisses received liberating Italy or France. But after these heroic deeds, with Europe’s resurgence to power and, above all, after seeing itself free from the Communist menace, frictions have become frequent and anti-Americanism a constant phenomenon.

Fierce opposition to the war in Iraq marked the chilliest point in this disengagement. All of Western Europe — the East responding to other motives and another history — felt insulted by an administration that dared to refer to it as “Old Europe.” In the U.S., some shops pulled European foodstuffs from their shelves.

These products returned later in force. Americans consume more cappuccinos than the Italians and extol the virtues of the Mediterranean Diet. But time has shown that differences weren’t confined to or relative to a specific president. The majority of European governments resisted Obama’s request to increase their military forces in Afghanistan, and those that did went against domestic public opinion. They also denied his request to receive transferred Guantánamo detainees, except for a few merely symbolic gestures.

The cases of bin Laden and Strauss-Kahn have managed to put in evidence the distinct visions on each side of the Atlantic about such decisive issues as justice, the treatment of victims, and the right to privacy. It’s not so much the problem of the America’s supposed Puritanism. As writer Christopher Hitchens mentions, the U.S. has had lustful presidents, such as John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, who remain very popular; and the first Republican candidate in this year’s contest, Newt Gingrich, wed a woman who was his mistress for his third marriage.

The differences have much more to do with a different system of values. In the case of bin Laden, Americans almost unanimously applauded the killing of a confessed killer who has spilled blood around half the world. Save for a few exceptions, not even leftist media outlets voiced objections. In Europe, as The New York Times’ Paris correspondent described, this episode raised anti-Americanism to level four on a scale of 10, and certain circles saw it less as an act of justice than as an act of vengeance.

The case of Strauss-Kahn has been interpreted by analysts as ideologically disparate as Maureen Down and Peggy Noonan as a proud demonstration of the impartiality of American justice. “Only in America,” writes Noonan, “would they have taken the testimony of the immigrant woman from Africa and dragged the powerful man out of his first-class seat.”

In France, on the other hand, 57 percent of the population believe that the ex-director of the International Monetary Fund is the victim of a conspiracy. The American press has not even mentioned the name of the hotel maid, nor has it investigated her private life. Respect for the victim is the priority. In France, Strauss-Kahn’s image has been protected by avoiding showing him in handcuffs.

France is one of the countries Obama will visit. Returning, he will bring major and minor political successes. But not even he, a cosmopolitan black president, will be able to destroy deep-seated prejudices on both sides.