Obama and the World - UPDATED

Kossack nutmegan's Dutch friend emailed:

You have given us hope in a way that only Americans can: against all odds.

That's the essence of why this election was so important to the world. This interview with Fareed Zakaria from July 2008 underscores the point. (transcript)

If the CNN video doesn't work for you, the Fareed Zakaria interview of Barack Obama is available on youtube: part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4

Obama's response to Zakaria's query about the problem of Islam demonstrates the thought, education and upbringing that our new President-elect brings to the table.

OBAMA: I think the problems of terrorism and groups that are resisting modernity, whether because of their ethnic identities or religious identities, and the fact that they can be driven into extremist ideologies, is one of the severe threats that we face.

I don't think it's the only threat that we face.

OBAMA: I think the problems of terrorism and groups that are resisting modernity, whether because of their ethnic identities or religious identities, and the fact that they can be driven into extremist ideologies, is one of the severe threats that we face.

I don't think it's the only threat that we face.

ZAKARIA: But how do you view the problem within Islam? As somebody who saw it in Indonesia ... the largest Muslim country in the world?

OBAMA: Well, it was interesting. When I lived in Indonesia -- this would be '67, '68, late '60s, early '70s -- Indonesia was never the same culture as the Arab Middle East. The brand of Islam was always different.

But around the world, there was no -- there was not the sense that Islam was inherently opposed to the West, or inherently opposed to modern life, or inherently opposed to universal traditions like rule of law.

And now in Indonesia, you see some of those extremist elements. And what's interesting is, you can see some correlation between the economic crash during the Asian financial crisis, where about a third of Indonesia's GDP was wiped out, and the acceleration of these Islamic extremist forces.

It isn't to say that there is a direct correlation, but what is absolutely true is that there has been a shift in Islam that I believe is connected to the failures of governments and the failures of the West to work with many of these countries, in order to make sure that opportunities are there, that there's bottom-up economic growth.

You know, the way we have to approach, I think, this problem of Islamic extremism, which is real and (ph) there, is we have to hunt down those who would resort to violence to move their agenda, their ideology forward. We should be going after al Qaeda and those networks fiercely and effectively.

But what we also want to do is to shrink the pool of potential recruits. And that involves engaging the Islamic world rather than vilifying it, and making sure that we understand that not only are those in Islam who would resort to violence a tiny fraction of the Islamic world, but that also, the Islamic world itself is diverse.

And that lumping together Shia extremists with Sunni extremists, assuming that Persian culture is the same as Arab culture, that those kinds of errors in lumping Islam together result in us not only being less effective in hunting down and isolating terrorists, but also in alienating what need to be our long-term allies on a whole host of issues.

This interview reflects just one facet of the support that Obama gathered together to win the presidency. Given his calm consideration of the challenges facing the US in the economy, in energy independence, in climate change response and the #1 domestic issue of health care, many anticipate Obama's thoughtful, informed, intelligent leadership in foreign policy and it brought such a reaction from around the world.

More world reaction in youtube videos here, here, and here. And from the University of Sydney on election day.

UPDATE: Kossack pensivepenguin has done a round-the-world survey of newspaper articles and editorials reviewing Obama's election and asking the question, "Where is our equivalent of Obama?" It's fascinating reading. Obama's impact may go well beyond his own initiatives by how the fact of his election changes how others look at democracy within their own countries.