September 27, 2008Diaz Hendropriyono
Washington, DC
I watched the U.S. Presidential debate last night between John McCain and Barack Obama. No doubt, there are significant and fundamental differences between the candidate’s view about a few major things. Take, for example, when asked to comment about the current financial crisis, McCain blamed greediness, while Obama blamed the lack of oversight over financial institutions. While Obama wanted to give tax cut for 95% of Americans—and by the way, increase tax for the wealthy—McCain said that he wanted to give everyone $5,000 tax credit to purchase health care. Where McCain asked for a surge in Iraq and change tactics to defeat the enemy, Obama wanted to end the war in 16 months, as he insisted that the “real enemy” is in Afghanistan, not Iraq. And he emphasized his focus on al Qaeda. Regarding Russia, it is clear that McCain, although at other times he suggested that the Cold War era has ended, still implied the “tough” stance towards Russia. He said that in Putin’s eyes, he saw three letters, KGB. Obama wanted to have a softer approach towards Russia, simply by implying that the U.S. does not need to provoke Russia. Americans just need to show democracies in Europe (Russia’s “adversaries”) that the U.S. is with them.
It seems that any foreigner who watched the debate would like to see Obama get elected because of his stance. However, what I think I like about Obama is not any of that. The most important point in the debate that I think is worth of the biggest praise is the fact that he admitted that the U.S. image abroad is bad, and it needs rehabilitation. As a foreigner, I know deeply how important it is for the U.S. image to be rebuilt to change our view towards the U.S. Talk to any European (other than the British, of course). Talk to any Arab about the U.S. And talk to any Indonesian you can find. You will most probably realize that most of them would say negatively about the U.S. You can also easily look at any poll in any country, and you will not find a single poll noting a favorable view towards the U.S. under Bush.
Obama is committed to rebuild the U.S. image worldwide. And he said it quite a few times, even before the debate. On the other hand, I have never heard McCain saying the same. It is quite strange for a presidential candidate not wanting to admit (or perhaps he does not know) that many countries do not have a favorable view towards the U.S., especially after the War in Iraq. How does McCain want to make America get the respect from the world community when he does not know that nobody likes the U.S. (policy)? Simply because understanding that, if I were American, Obama would get my vote.
