Brand New View

Eurobama-The New Language

Europe is stunned. "The President of the US is listening to us?" they muse. Many European countries agree that they like the new US president, at least for now. Let's hope they continue to keep an open mind as Obama reaches out to the European community in the coming months seeking more substantial involvement on a wide range of issues, from a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, to disarming Iran's nuclear ambitions, to a more coordinated international set of actions for reigniting economies and regulating financial markets (and more). 

Obama’s popularity in Europe is due to several reasons: he is bright, articulate, hopeful, has interesting ideas, and is able to grasp subtle issues. He is also not Bush.  But that last point has been over emphasized by the press. There were several competent successors to Bush that were not Bush...Hillary Clinton, John McCain, for example. But Obama won. Why? Because he represented substantial change, versus incremental change. He was different in many ways: intellectually, temperamentally, and strategically. And his personal story is compelling. Britain, France and Germany in particular all have different reasons for liking Obama. Many of Obama's qualities that Americans find appealing are equally appealing to these countries. 

But each of these countries also have very different histories with the US....Britain has been the US’s biggest ally for the past 50 years and, more controversially, the past eight years. Citizens there find him refreshing and candid, from what the polls say, and are undoubtedly delighted that their country is not as easily maligned by the rest of the world due to its special relationship with the US. The French, who have historically been as different from the US as they have from their own EU partners, see Obama as someone to believe in and, to their surprise, he is also a US president. This must be an anxiety-inducing paradox for them. And from what political pundits say, Germans like Obama because he is a pragmatic visionary (now if Merkel could only demonstrate greater pragmatism herself by implementing a more aggressive fiscal policy). All perceptions of Obama appear to be accurate.

Europeans also like Obama because he has signaled that the US would no longer ‘go it alone’ in foreign policy, but would engage its partners in Europe and around the world. That was a very important message to send.

But perhaps the biggest issues that captured the hearts, minds, and support of many Europeans were Obama's order to shut Guantanamo Bay within a year and his halting of harsh interrogation techniques of prisoners. These issues also removed key hot buttons that fueled a global backlash against the US the past eight years. Obama is speaking a language that the world, particularly Europe in this case, wants to hear--that he meant what he said and would back up his words with actions. 

100+ Days

I got a kick out of Stephen Colbert's recent show, making light of the public's infatuation with assessing the President's first 100 days. Describing his own arbitrary evaluation, he introduced Colbert's 'First 14 Monday's'. His mocking of political and media pundits continues to be one of the most original and enjoyable creations on TV.

I was recently interviewed again by ChannelNewsAsia to assess Obama's first 100 days through the lens of branding. Successful branding is about building trust, and a country's reputation is really an indication of how much it can be trusted. For over two hundred years the US has stood for a consistent set of values and beliefs, even as different political parties ran the government. These include: constitutional rights, rule of law, human rights, and a larger, far more hopeful notion that the US always stood for opportunity, where anybody could succeed irrespective of their background. This latter point is still, to me, the most compelling, meaningful, and motivating ideal represented by the US. Having lived in Southeast Asia for more than 5 years, even with the spectacular growth, changing political conditions, and improved living standards across most of the region, there is still a strong distinction between the privileged few and all others. One's pedigree and background in this region still matters more than one's potential, although more people are indeed gaining access to opportunity. Nevertheless, many societies here 'select' those with the greatest potential for success, relegating those with less education or economic wealth to secondary status.

Back to my point about the US's values...in the past 8 years, many of these values have been called into question. Of course, the US has faced economic crises before, as well as social crises, and succeeded. But the past 8 years were the first time that a crisis of confidence in the US--a loss of trust if you will--reached epidemic proportions globally.

Obama’s first 100 days signal an aggressive effort to turn this around. To my mind, these efforts should be applauded, irrespective of one’s political affiliation. His administration is handling multiple challenges and crises remarkably well, although I admit it is still far too early to claim victory. But I give Obama an 'A' for effort. The details of how to implement new domestic and foreign policies can and will be debated and negotiated behind the scenes. But as with any successful brand, the public face must match the internal efforts, and both political parties must find greater common ground. Obama must continue to find ways to gain support from more Republicans. This is where Obama has both an opportunity and a big risk. Opportunity in that most people want him to succeed. Risk because a few, vocal (shrill!) people, are actually hoping he fails. Furthermore, the Republican leadership is doing nothing constructive to participate in meaningful change or react to the extreme elements in their party. Instead, they are sticking to outdated slogans and simplistic beliefs.  This creates press and drama, but contributes nothing to making the US better off. 

How Obama responds to the opposition will be a key test in the next 100 days, and beyond.