Why do you like President Obama so much? What makes him different in your eyes to past presidents?
I'll answer this from my point of view as a British-American and mix in many of the opinions I've heard living in England and Germany...I voted for Obama the first time around and I don't regret it. What with McCain singing songs about bombing Iran, he was simply continuing the narrative that's become more and more clear as I get older: the Republican party is a train wreck for virtually everybody concerned. Most Republican voters are arguing against their own well-being. That wasn't all, though - I'll admit I caught some of the excitement of his first campaign.
I'm not an Obama enthusiast, I just think that considering what the Republican party stands for these days, a Republican president would be terrible for America and for the rest of the world.
...as to the many opinions I've heard, this has a lot to do with the Euro-love for Obama as well: most of the rest of the world also sees the Republican party as a train-wreck, though this is mostly due to GW Bush (I don't think many Europeans understand the effects that we still suffer from from, say, the war on drugs and other past presidents' ill-adventures...not that I'd expect them to, any more than I would of their countries' politicians from the last forty years). Obama also appears to lack the perceived-standard-American arrogance - he talks to leaders and engages in their customs (taking heat from the right while doing so - one might recall such events in Saudi Arabia and Japan, if I remember correctly). Again, some of this is simply contrast: "You're either with us or against us" did not sit well over here.
One should also keep in mind that most of the European countries vote for a party, not an individual. So some of Obama's Euro-love is simply because they like Democrats better. And that's pretty easy to see why: they aren't embroiled in what seems like ridiculous stances on guns, same-sex marriage, abortion, etc. This I'd have to qualify with saying "the average European I've met", as there are still plenty of political elements throughout Europe fighting with these things. As Jeep said, Europe swings left of the States, but like everybody knows you can't paint everyone with such broad strokes - in Ireland, if I'm not mistaken, abortions are almost completely illegal, then of course there was the protest against same-sex marriage recently in France, and then throughout the continent more far-right politicians are gaining traction, as far as I can tell, as a reflex against the immigration coming from the Middle East and nearby regions. But that's another discussion altogether...
In my first British election I decided that "the lesser of two evils" wasn't good enough, and it really looked like the third party (Lib Dems) had a shot, so I went for it. Of course, my vote for the Lib Dems effectively turned into a vote for the Conservatives which was the opposite of what I was going for, but...I'm still standing by that nowadays. Obama did not get my vote a second time.
Because a lot of dumb post 1986 born clueless idiots like socialists and are naturally born socialists, don't want to work or bust their asses offand just care of getting social helps and free healthcare. You can't make of a generation of pestiferating parasites a hardworking one, never.
It's funny how you can hold stupid opinions, I can show you how your opinions are wrong with facts, figures, sources, you can say something like "Facts don't concern me!" and carry on holding these ignorant opinions. Really, I'm amused. Probably don't even remember the debate. We've had it twice now regarding your...hmm...generacism.
. I'm British by the way.
