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Europe loves Hillary Clinton, but as Secretary of State?
Europe loves Hillary Clinton more than any other part of the world. But the idea of her being the next U.S. Secretary of State has drawn a tepid response from Europeans.
Simon Tisdall, an editorial writer for London’s Guardian newspaper, said the choice of Clinton would make no one happier than the Republicans. “In their jaundiced view, it would be a first, encouraging indication that the president-elect, who has sometimes seemed to walk on water, is capable of making unforced errors,” he wrote.
He wrote that the choice of Clinton would give the Republicans a familiar target. “The resulting uproar might quickly become a serious distraction for Obama just as he tries to seize the political agenda,” he wrote.
Even Bronwen Maddox, the chief foreign commentator for the London Times — and a female — said that Hillary is not the right woman for the job.
“It’s not that the choice would be terrible for U.S. foreign policy. She would surely do an excellent job - thorough, detailed, tenacious - as she has in her eight years as senator for New York,” she wrote. “But it would hand the rebuilding of America’s worldwide reputation - one of the defining themes of Mr. Obama’s campaign and presidency - to someone who has her own strong views. Not disastrous views, at all, from what we know. But different from his; sometimes subtly, sometimes sharply, and very definitely hers.”
In the end, she wrote that: “There is an old principle that you shouldn’t hire someone you can’t fire. That is why Barack Obama would make a huge mistake if he were to pick Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.”
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Chinese say Yao Ming should fight back
Hundreds of Chinese criticized Houston Rockets basketball center Yao Ming - China’s best-loved athlete - for backing down in a shoving match between the Rockets and Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
The fracas started when Houston’s Rafer Alston pushed a Phoenix player at midcourt. Tracy McGrady then shoved Steve Nash and was in turn pushed down by Shaquille O’Neal, “who with one arm moved the entire scrum several feet,” the Associate Press reported.
When Yao came to pull McGrady out of the mess, O’Neal shoved him down as well, China’s Sohu Sports website said.
When Sohu Sports asked readers if Yao should have fought back, 82 percent said he should have.
One typical posting to the site blamed Yao for weakness. “You should have hit him,” the anonymous posting states. “You can’t let people think you can be pushed around.”
“If Yao gets in a fight and no one comes to help him, it will be horrible. The whole Chinese nation will lose face,” the comment said.
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Coming soon to a theater near you …
With the U.S. presidential election finally over, we can turn our attention to more important things — the biggest films of 2009. And, according to the London Times newspaper, there are plenty of big ones coming out next year. Here are what the paper’s reviewers believe will be the top five movies of the year.
1) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July) Harry Potter fans will already have a fairly good idea of what happens in this, the sixth film in the hugely popular boy wizard film adapted from JK Rowling’s all-conquering books. It was an early script draft of this film that prompted Rowling to ‘out’ Dumbledore while promoting the final Potter book.
2) Public Enemies (July) Starring Christian Bale and Johnny Depp
3) Star Trek (May) Starring Winona Ryder as Spock’s mom
4) Watchmen (March) Alan Moore’s superlative comic book comes to the big screen
5) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May) Hugh Jackman’s back
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Latin America not expecting too much from Obama
With the U.S. facing the worst financial crisis in a generation, many here believe Obama will be far too preoccupied with fixing the U.S. economy to get into a battle over immigration.
In Mexico and throughout Latin America the feeling is that the Bush administration has largely ignored the region. If it didn’t have to do with drugs or border security, most here believed, the United States wasn’t interested. Now that worries over terrorism have been replaced by worries over a cratering economy, Latin America still seems far from becoming a focus for the incoming administration.
“Obama has said little about the relationship with Mexico and in fact, there’s little to be hopeful about in the short term,” wrote the influential Mexico City daily El Universal on Wednesday.
And here’s what Mexico City office worker Juan Juarez told us when we did a round of man on the street interviews after the election: “I think that for Mexico it doesn’t make a big difference who won the presidential election in the United States, since the Americans will continue their cold and distant way of treating issues of importance to us like immigration reform.”
That sentiment echoed throughout the region. Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce President Edgardo Wagner said he isn’t expecting much from an Obama presidency. “The issue of immigration will continue to be treated the same way,” he said. “If in better times the United States didn’t support us, now even less so.”
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Obamamania in China
The photograph on the cover of Friday’s China Daily showed a poster of Michael Jordan soaring towards a slam dunk — with a picture of President-elect Barack Obama taped over his head.
The image highlights China’s growing infatuation with Obama. While Beijing analysts expected a McCain or Obama administration to have similar China policies, average Chinese have been caught up in the global Obamamania.
“The Illinois senator has fans all across the globe,” an editorial by Raymond Zhou in the China Daily read on Friday. “And over here in China, he seems to have a grip on the imagination of Chinese youth.”
One recent survey on the China Daily’s website found that 80 percent of respondents preferred Obama to McCain.
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For America, a post-election boost in Europe
What a difference a day makes. Since Barack Obama’s victory, America has gone from being a pariah in Europe to being a most admired nation. In newspaper after newspaper across Europe, politicians, pundits, and writers welcomed America back to the fold this week.
The lead editorial in London’s Guardian newspaper on Thursday was titled “Welcome Back America.” It said that the world has been waiting patiently to welcome America back into the community of nations.
“The Bush doctrine, which gives America the right to secure itself from international threats, must be turned on its head,” it said. “If the threats facing America - terrorism, nuclear proliferation and climate change - cannot be faced by one country alone, international coalitions must be genuine.” It added that: “Eight years of failed foreign policy is enough. Enough lives have been lost, enough countries ruined, by doing things the other way. America, welcome back into the world.”
An editorial in London’s Independent newspaper echoed those sentiments, saying that: “For all the cruelties and prejudices of the past, it speaks well of the United States that such a victory came to pass - or, as the President-elect expressed it with more poetry, the true genius of America is that America can change.”
Berlin’s Der Spiegel newspaper also said that America had rediscovered its political calling. “America has reinvented itself by choosing Barack Obama as its new president in an election that has fanned enormous expectations in America and around the world.”
Overall, Europeans say they are looking to Obama to lead the way on climate change, close down the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and ease America out of Iraq without destabilizing the country. Oh, and they hope he fixes the economy, too.
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Election Day Question: Who were among the greatest U.S. presidents?
With the election finally upon us, the venerable Times newspaper of London has decided to enlist the help of a panel of staffers to pick the greatest U.S. presidents of all time.
So who is the greatest of them all? It’s no surprise that No. 1 on the list is Abraham Lincoln, chosen because of his ability to keep the fledgling nation alive when it could have collapsed.
The other best commanders-in-chief include:
2) George Washington 3) Franklin D. Roosevelt 4) Thomas Jefferson 5) Theodore Roosevelt
One surprise is that Ronald Reagan comes in at No. 8. According to the Times’ American editor, Gerard Baker, he “revived American self-confidence at its lowest ebb.” (Incidentally, Bill Clinton is ranked 23rd and Jimmy Carter is ranked 32nd — narrowly escaping the worst 10.)
So where is George W. Bush ranked? He’s tied with the dastardly Richard Nixon at No. 37.
The worst all-time president, according to the panel, was actually James Buchanan, whose failure to prevent the Civil War was noted as the greatest single mistake ever made by any president.
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Or maybe a seat on the Supreme Court?
Oprah Winfrey. Movie star, talk show host, do-gooder … and American ambassador?
According to Gideon Rachman’s international affairs blog on the Financial Times Web site today, the idea of Barack Obama naming Oprah Winfrey as ambassador to Britain isn’t all that far-fetched.
He said that, in London, the local interest has centered on the question of who will be the next ambassador. If Obama wins, many people believe it might be Caroline Kennedy.
“This would be an interesting appointment, given that the last Kennedy to serve as U.S. ambassador to Britain - Joe Kennedy - did not exactly cover himself in glory. He was forced to resign in 1940 after injudiciously suggesting that ‘democracy is finished in England’.”
But Rachman said that there is also a far more interesting name doing the rounds than Caroline Kennedy — Oprah Winfrey. “This is a bona fide rumor, put about by well-placed sources,” he said. “The argument is that Oprah is also a prominent supporter of Obama and that she might be looking for a change of direction - having grown bored with her mega-star status.”
I’m not sure what a bona fide rumor means, or how it’s different from a regular rumor, but it’s fun to speculate.
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The world, according to polls, wants Obama …
Surprise, surprise … another new global survey reveals that the entire world is pinning its hopes on a Barack Obama victory next month.
The research, carried out by eight leading newspapers including the Guardian newspaper in London, finds overwhelming support for the Democratic candidate. He would win by a landslide in every country surveyed, including Britain, where he is ahead of John McCain by 64% to 15%. Elsewhere Obama leads by wide margins as well. In Canada, Obama leads McCain by 70%-14%; in Japan the margin is 61%-13%.
Support for Obama is stronger than backing for John Kerry in 2004, when a similar poll was conducted. Then, the Democrat was the preferred candidate of 50% of British people.
The survey also shows that opinion of America has dropped dramatically since the start of the decade. In France 75% say their view of the United States has gotten worse or much worse since President Bush replaced Bill Clinton in 2001; in Canada 77%; in Switzerland 86%; and in Japan 62%.
For McCain, the poll results mean he might not be the most welcome of visitors in countries around the world if he does become president. And he should definitely avoid France, where only 5% of the population supports him.
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But what does Madonna think about the bank bailout?
Volatile stock markets. Plunging home prices. Rising unemployment. Yet what are the British papers full of today?
News of a split between America’s Material Girl and British director Guy Ritchie. According to various reports, Madonna, 50, and her husband are seeking a pre-Christmas divorce because they “can’t bear to live with the pretense any longer.”
Britain’s Sun newspaper claims that the couple will announce their split within a few days. The two married seven years ago at an extravagant ceremony in Scotland. The couple have spent most of their married life in London, sharing a $14 million home with their children - Lourdes, 12, Rocco, seven, and David, two. Madonna adopted David from a Malawian orphanage in 2006, and was granted permanent custody of the little boy only last month. Lourdes is the singer’s daughter by Carlos Leon, her former fitness instructor.
Rumors have been circulating within the press for months that the marriage had become a rocky one with reports that the two had started communicating via their personal assistants.
Ritchie will apparently move out of the couple’s London home and move into the Wiltshire, England mansion also owned by the pair.
The Sun said that Madonna had soured on the idea of English life, deciding she didn’t really like hunting and going for pints of beer with her hubby at the local pub.
Exciting stuff.
Latest comments
OUR POWER made “THE WALL” fall. Now, what can OBANANATION do that is better for EUROPE than that? Are all the MUSLINS in the SLUMS of European cities now going to have jobs and love the rest of the world? No WAIT WAIT WAIT since Obama is going
... read the full comment by Pi$$onaDAWG | Comment on For America, a post-election boost in Europe Read For America, a post-election boost in Europe
GEE, I guess with OBAMA in office he will make all Europe safe from the MUSLINS & TERRORISTS bombings on all forms of TRANSIT.
... read the full comment by Pi$$onaDAWG | Comment on For America, a post-election boost in Europe Read For America, a post-election boost in Europe
Gee, nothing makes me feel better about our country than knowing European newspapers liked the election results. So much for sovereignty, right?
... read the full comment by Nobama | Comment on For America, a post-election boost in Europe Read For America, a post-election boost in Europe
If Lincoln were president today, he’d be considered the worst. He was a racist. He had a sitting congressman imprisoned for dissenting with the war. He suspended habeus corpus. The media would have killed him.
... read the full comment by Bubba | Comment on Election Day Question: Who were among the greatest U.S. presidents? Read Election Day Question: Who were among the greatest U.S. presidents?