Global Poll: How the World Sees the 2008 Election (page 4 of 4)

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(OBAMA) ALEX BRANDON/AP IMAGES; (McCain) CHRISTOPHER MORRIS/VII

America is still a nation that inspires—even at a time when many abroad disapprove of some of our most visible policies.

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If the World Could Vote
We asked a straight horse-race question—the kind pollsters in America pose every day during the stretch run of an election year—with one wrinkle: Most of our respondents, not being American citizens, cannot vote. They have a clear preference, however: It's Barack Obama, everywhere.

What They Think of Washington
Our question was put in unsentimental terms: "When you think of the U.S. government, do you consider yourself pro-American, neutral, or anti-American?"

In Their Own Words
Our international editors hit the streets and interviewed their own citizens-and came away with these responses:

"World poverty is the largest problem because it is the source of many of the other problems."
--Markus Rapp, Germany

"The next president of the United States must solve the immigration problem. I lived in L.A. and saw lots of Mexicans coming in every day. They don't have any social security and get paid below minimum wage. The whole situation is making Americans more resentful of Mexicans and vice versa."
--Igor Figueroa Ochoa, Mexico

"We, the United States, and many other countries advocate world peace, but we are actively destroying the environment. Global warming and the melting glaciers are growing increasingly severe."
--Guan-ming Chen, Taiwan

"I would leave my country, France, because I like the U.S.A. I like the country and I like the opportunities."
--Tewfik Guennoun, France

"McCain is very much of the presidential mold ... the type you'd expect Hollywood to send from central casting."
--Keith Suter, Australia

"It is harder to do business in Russia, but I would never move to the U.S.A. ... Motherland is not something you choose. I am not even trying to play patriotic; I just think nobody needs us there."
--Vadim Fedichev, Russia

The Issues That Unite and Divide
Country by country, the priorities are, well, all over the map. Which of these global issues is most important to you? Russia is the only country in which fear of terrorism ranks higher than in America; India, Indonesia, and South Africa are the only ones in which the environment falls low on the fix-it lists. Environmental protection and global poverty top all the other rankings. Nuclear proliferation rated low everywhere.

Who Would Move Here if They Could
Asians and Africans consider the United States a path out of poverty. And while most Eastern Europeans would stay at home, the French see us as the land of second chances.

About Our Poll
Surveys were done in June and July by Synovate, an international polling organization. In the Netherlands and Finland, local firms were retained. Questions were posed online, by telephone, and in person to 17,000 respondents. The poll's margin of error is approximately 3 percent.

From Reader's Digest - November 2008

• Discussion: Global Poll
• 
• Reader’s Digest Global Presidential Poll
• Read the methodology behind our international poll.
• 
• The Global Presidential Poll
• Our exclusive international poll of 17 countries reveal the issues that unite us, the fears that divide us and who can best change our image abroad.
• 

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