World closely watching US presidential elections

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — When Sri Murtiningsi asked her third grade class what they wanted to be when they grew up, the answers ranged from doctors to a pilot. One curly haired boy raised his hand: Barack Obama said his dream was to be president of the United States.

Forty years later Murtiningsi — like the rest of the world — is watching closely as Americans prepare to head to the polls Tuesday.

Many believe Obama's international experience would go a long way in helping repair damage caused by the unpopular U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with recent opinion polls from more than 70 nations favoring him a resounding three-to-one over Republican John McCain.

"Obama the best hope for U.S. revival," an editorial in The Australian Financial Review said Monday, arguing that "the world craves American leadership and never more so than now." The Gulf News, an English-language paper in the United Arab Emirates, had a similar take, saying only he could "undo the great damage done by the Bush administration to America's image," especially the Middle East.



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