America and the world into a new era - Part I

Both McCain and Obama, unlike Bush, acknowledge the gravity of global warming. But on this they are out of step with the American people. Only 42 per cent of Americans think global warming is a very serious problem. By comparison, majorities in 14 of 23 Pew survey nations are extremely worried about climate change, including 92 per cent of Brazilians, 73 per cent of the Japanese and 66 per cent of the Indians.

The economy will pose additional problems abroad for the next US president, especially McCain. He contends that economic prospects are good. In contrast, publics in 17 of 23 countries rate their economy as bad. Moreover, among those people who think that the US economy influences their economy, large portions - seven in ten in Britain, Germany and France - say such American influence is negative.

McCain and Obama also differ on trade. The Republican candidate is an unabashed free trader. The Democrat wants trade agreements to give greater protection to worker and environmental standards which may have the practical effect of crimping trade. And again, McCain seems out of step with trends in public opinion. The Americans’ support for trade has fallen 25 percentage points in the last six years, the most of any nation. But enthusiasm for trade has also eroded in Europe and parts of Asia and Latin America.

Like Bush, McCain’s instinct it to act unilaterally in dealing with international issues. To that end he has advocated creation of a League of Democracies, effectively a coalition of the willing, which some of his conservative supporters want to use to kill the United Nations. And McCain did recently vote to cut the US share of payments for UN peacekeeping operations. Obama, on the other hand, speaks openly of the need for multilateral approaches to problem solving.

Yet in his opposition to multilateralism, McCain has the support of the American people. When asked what country or organisation should have responsibility for dealing with the world’s leading problem, whatever that issue might be, a plurality of Americans said the United States should go it alone. A plurality of the British, French, Germans and Chinese disagree, saying that the United Nations should take the lead.

The next US president will inherit a country with a profound image problem. Anti-American sentiment around the world is already far worse today than it was in 2000. And the disconnect between McCain and, on some issues, Obama and the publics around the world is only likely to worsen that problem. Yet this erosion of America’s standing in the world does not concern many Americans. And it will not influence their vote in November.