Polls in 8 countries show wide Obama support

One would think the repugicans would realize this.
Nah, that would require a functioning brain ...

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If the world beyond America's shores had a say, it seems clear that Barack Obama would win the presidential election by something approaching a landslide.

That is the key finding of a coordinated series of newspaper polls conducted in eight countries and published Friday in Britain's Guardian and other papers.

It is no surprise Obama, the Democratic nominee, is popular in Europe - that was clear when he drew tumultuous crowds to his open-air speech in Berlin this summer - but the scope of the lead suggested by the polls is startling.

In Switzerland, for example, Obama has 83 percent support to John McCain's 7 percent; in Britain, 64 percent to McCain's 15 percent and in France, 69 percent to McCain's 5 percent. The closest they get is in Poland, where Obama has 43 percent and McCain 26 percent.

"The results tell you there is a really strong global desire for change in America, at least in the countries where we polled," said Julian Glover, The Guardian's polls reporter. "There's not a lot of support for McCain anywhere."

Glover said widespread unhappiness over the policies of President Bush has spilled over to color the public's view of McCain, the Republican candidate.

The polls, coordinated by La Presse newspaper in Montreal, also tested attitudes toward the United States and found deep suspicion and mistrust in many countries.

In addition to surveying sentiment in Europe, newspaper polls were conducted in Japan, Canada and Mexico. Obama was found to be favored by wide margins in all three countries.

Julia Clark, head of political research at the Ipsos MORI polling firm in Britain, said the results are consistent with other surveys outside of the United States.

"That tallies up with polls we've done and other polls we've seen," she said. "There is a very large favorability for Obama, particularly as the financial crisis worsens."

She said Democratic Party candidates typically fare better in European polls because their policies on health care and education are more in line with European views. The preference is stronger this time, she said, reflecting Europeans' inability to relate to social conservatives who make up an important wing of the Republican Party.

"People in Europe have difficulties with a candidate like Sarah Palin, who resonates with part of the American population," Clark said. "Europeans don't get it."

Clark, whose company was not involved with the poll, said she had no problems with its methodology even though the polling techniques were not uniform from country to country.

"The margins are so wide I'm sure we're not being misled," she said.