Don’t hold your breath

A good many commentators – chief among them Andrew Sullivan -  have argued that the “simple” act of electing Barack Obama – an African-American with a “Muslim”-sounding name – would have a significantly positive impact on America’s image worldwide.  I’ve always been a little skeptical of this claim, and The National Interest’s Nikolas Gvosdev captures exactly why (via Dan Drezner):

It would be foolhardy for the Obama team to assume that these strong ratings can easily and swiftly be translated into renewed acceptance of U.S. policies. And publics in other countries that are expecting an Obama administration would reverse or alter every last policy of the Bush administration are going to be disappointed. 

On some issues – namely Pakistan, but there are others – an Obama administration’s approach will not be noticably different from the Bush administration’s. Moreover, the Bush administration dealt a tremendous amount of damage to the United State’s reputation; even with a President Obama, some countries will be skeptical – if not a little hostile – to attempts by a President Obama to assert American leadership.  If Obama decides to deploy troops somewhere – which, if his rhetoric is any indication, I guarantee will happen – you can probably expect to see some resistance from allies (like Great Britain) who have been basically been taken advantage of by the Bush administration.

(photo from flickr user alyoshafan)