Barack Obama went to Iraq, Afghanistan, and made three stops in Europe. He was apparently wildly popular in Europe, if not in the war zones. Nevertheless, tracking polls here in the U.S. seem to show that he got little or no boost from this trip. Perhaps he has found, among the Europeans, his natural constituency. It is too bad they can't vote for him.
This sort of odd mismatch happens with some frequency. Anwar Sadat was more popular in the U.S. than in Egypt. Gorbachev was more popular in the West than in Russia. Tony Blair was better liked in the U.S. than at home in the U.K. Most Americans would gladly give the rest of the world custody of Jimmy Carter. Europeans could never understand why Bill Clinton lost Americans' respect. And poor George W. Bush is better loved in Africa than in the U.S.
Anyone for "No prophet is accepted in his own country?" Go figure....
