While I don’t doubt the unreasonable expectations that much of the world has for Obama, the effect on America’s image should not be understated. Many people, particularly Muslims and Arabs, have a very distorted picture of prejudice in America. I am an American living in Canada at the moment. Most of the people I know are Muslim. When I’ve talked about America with Muslims, particularly older Muslims, I get the impression that they think the KKK is still an important force in American politics. They dismiss out of hand the idea that someone “like them” could be elected to public office in the US. Raising awareness about people like Keith Ellison would probably have some effect on this kind of thinking, but nothing could change world opinion on this issue like electing a visible minority president. The European media will do all they can to undercut the boost to America’s image, by publicizing real and imagined racism during the general election. But regardless of Obama’s actual policies, the mere fact of a black president will force many people to reevaluate their view of the US.
