Rest of the World Drawn Into U.S. Race

[cal04]

People outside the United States could only watch, wait and vent as Americans lined up to vote Tuesday in an election that provoked an extraordinary degree of emotional involvement beyond U.S. borders.

Not just leaders and news media, but ordinary people were riveted by the contest between President Bush and John Kerry, convinced that a world roiled by the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, the war on terrorism, and cultural and religious conflict had a huge stake in the outcome


Saif-ur Rahman, a 36-year-old lawyer in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, planned to watch the results come in and hopes for a change.``Muslims have suffered under Bush whether they are in America or elsewhere,'' he said. ``I hope Kerry will change that.''In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wagner Markues, 54, also prefers Kerry and wonders why the race is so close.``We don't understand America now,'' he said. ``Are they getting different news than us about the scandals in the Iraqi prisons, and the children and civilians who are getting killed?''

Polls in many countries -- and a quick survey of the newspapers and TV -- left little doubt that Kerry is the preferred choice across much of the globe. But while popular opinion was sometimes skeptical of Bush, he has support from the leaders of foreign countries as diverse as Britain, Australia, Russia and Japan.In Europe, Bush remained a tough sell.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-ELN-World-on-Edge.html

[HighJinx]

1. Demonstrations tomorrow?

Wouldn't it be great if people all over the globe went into the streets and waved flags for A Fresh Start for America?