Thanks. It would be interesting (from my perspective at least) to compare Zakaria’s Post-Americanism with Fukuyama’s American Triumphalism (“End of History and the Last Man”). I mention this because we have a seen something of a radical swing in not only how America is perceived in the world, but how we perceive ourselves.
I watched Obama’s world tour with a great deal of interest. By and large, I thought he did very well, including in Israel, which I thought would be a much tougher sell.
Ideology aside, he is connecting with the wider international community and appears to be attacking (with vigor) the one area of weakness where McCain (at least initially) could claim a wider breadth of knowledge (the Iraq-Pakistan border comment notwithstanding) and experience.
However, voters in France and Germany don’t elect American Presidents. What happens when the McCain campaign actually starts running a campaign and goes after Obama? I had asked gandalf some rather pointed questions about where he thought Obama stood on certain issues.
To that, I would add: FISA and NAFTA and the DC gun ban. He appears to be tacking a little erratically, and IMHO, stumbled on the campaign finance issue.
