Has There Ever Been A More Popular Politician Worldwide Than Obama??

SharpshooterTom

Has there ever been a more popular politician than Barack Obama worldwide?

I find his popularity absolutely extraordinary. I wouldn't really call myself a fan, but I do admire his seemingly huge popularity worldwide, however he gets it. I don't think there has ever been a more popular politician than him ever, I really don't.

The coverage the US election is getting in Ireland, the UK with Sky News is staggering. It seems people are more interested in this election than they are with local elections here, UK elections, or any other elections in europe. China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

So I think a lot of it is to do with Obama and his personal popularity, am I right? The guy is clearly hugely media savy, more popular than Jesus sometimes the way people rave about him.

Like I say I'm not a fan but I don't recall Clinton, Gore or Kerry getting anywhere near the amount of good luck messages Obama is getting. I assume when he goes in 2016, the election hype wont be quite the same.

In addition he was the first person to get 10 million twitter followers, beating Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. :pac:

ricero

Adolf and the nazis a great bunch of lads

CardBordWindow

Sure who doesn't love Berlusconi and his Bunga Bunga fun times?? :cool:

FatherLen

i think bill clinton is deadly.


he plays saxophone!

kfallon

Alan B'Astard!

Mint Sauce

Its the round the clock news, internet, and social media age. Not of them in use before, or used in the way they were before.

There will be more technology in 4 years time to increase popularity further.

leonidas83

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Has there ever been a more popular politician than Barack Obama worldwide?

I find his popularity absolutely extraordinary. I wouldn't really call myself a fan, but I do admire his seemingly huge popularity worldwide, however he gets it. I don't think there has ever been a more popular politician than him ever, I really don't.

The coverage the US election is getting in Ireland, the UK with Sky News is staggering. It seems people are more interested in this election than they are with local elections here, UK elections, or any other elections in europe. China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

So I think a lot of it is to do with Obama and his personal popularity, am I right? The guy is clearly hugely media savy, more popular than Jesus sometimes the way people rave about him.

Like I say I'm not a fan but I don't recall Clinton, Gore or Kerry getting anywhere near the amount of good luck messages Obama is getting. I assume when he goes in 2016, the election hype wont be quite the same.

This election imo has received so much attention because its so tight not because Obama is particularly amazing or anything. I remember a similar level of attention given to the Bush/Gore presidential race.

I think Obama is quite popular globally in comparison to the previous but having said that, Clinton was quite popular too.

Maybe its because Obama is a Democrat, back, well educated & well spoken, doesnt take a hard line stance on foreign affairs & is generally a very charismatic type of individual.

Although he posseses the above characteristics I think his performance has been quite poor as the president. He has dithered in Middle East quite a bit, made a huge mistake in allowing BP to drill off the American coast resulting in devasting consequences & hasnt really made any impact on sorting out the unemployment rate in the states. I would consider his overall performance ineffective at best but I think his hands have been tied considerably by the amount of Republicans in office.

Having said this give me Obama anyday over Romney

Nixer Jim

westendgirlie

I would like to turn on the news and not have the US election as the top (and longest story).

Whoever came up with the idea that the media shows what the people want to see? I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS! Thank you very much.

kingtiger

Nelson Mandela would definitely take the crown

hidinginthebush

kingtiger wrote: »

Nelson Mandela would definitely take the crown

The thieving bastard„ no wonder he spent so much time in the slammer!

Rigol

hidinginthebush wrote: »

The thieving bastard„ no wonder he spent so much time in the slammer!

Didn't re-offend though did he.

(RG)

squod

That English lad. Conservative.... used to hate miners, ah what's his name.....
wore wimmins clothes a lot....... invaded Argentina, can't think....

Remmy

JFK maybe? He was pretty well loved.

biko

Numbers wise - Mao and Stalin had many many devotees (if you asked the respective governments at the time...)

kingtiger

biko wrote: »

Numbers wise - Mao and Stalin had many many devotees (if you asked the respective governments at the time...)

the question was "worldwide"

not per population

DEFTLEFTHAND

westendgirlie wrote: »

I would like to turn on the news and not have the US election as the top (and longest story).

Whoever came up with the idea that the media shows what the people want to see? I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS! Thank you very much.

I think the majority of people have a keen interest to outcome of this election. It's only really for today that it takes centre stage in our media.

padraig.od

Woodrow Wilson b*tches!

goat2

who are ye all rooting for,

Celly Smunt

clearly.

later12

Human beings love tension and relief - you could write entire volumes about how this influences everything from comedy, to visual art and classical music, but it extends to politics too.

In the case of Obama, the authority, the gravity and the intensity of his office, which is of global importance, is offset by his serene confidence, good humour and humanity. He communicates these desirable traits like no politician has ever been capable of communicating before, using social media.

We are heavily relieved. And this causes a positive image of the man proportionate to the degree to which he can communicate his positive traits and proportionate also to the importance of the office he holds and the magnitude of damage he could potentially wreak.

Funglegunk

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

Not quite the same thing!

SafeSurfer

Obama loved worldwide? In the west maybe.

I reckon Che Guevara may be the most popular politician ever worldwide.

If only to go by the number of tshirt wearing devotees.

steve9859

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Has there ever been a more popular politician than Barack Obama worldwide?

I find his popularity absolutely extraordinary. I wouldn't really call myself a fan, but I do admire his seemingly huge popularity worldwide, however he gets it. I don't think there has ever been a more popular politician than him ever, I really don't.

The coverage the US election is getting in Ireland, the UK with Sky News is staggering. It seems people are more interested in this election than they are with local elections here, UK elections, or any other elections in europe. China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

So I think a lot of it is to do with Obama and his personal popularity, am I right? The guy is clearly hugely media savy, more popular than Jesus sometimes the way people rave about him.

Like I say I'm not a fan but I don't recall Clinton, Gore or Kerry getting anywhere near the amount of good luck messages Obama is getting. I assume when he goes in 2016, the election hype wont be quite the same.

In addition he was the first person to get 10 million twitter followers, beating Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. :pac:

It is as much down to his strategy of leveraging new media (twitter etc) which was not available to Clinton etc than it is his popularity (which is much greater outside of the US....only 50% of Americans support him)

Skid

hidinginthebush wrote: »

The thieving bastard„ no wonder he spent so much time in the slammer!

Yeah, those Mandelas were always causing trouble. As soon as Nelson released, Winnie was locked up.

MistyCheese

I wasn't around for it personally but JFK seemed to enjoy an almost movie star-like fame. And Reagan of course was a movie star before taking up office. Schwarzenegger too.

phasers

Hitler, before all that WWII stuff

Emeraldy Pebbles

I've actually found this election's coverage low-key compared to the last one.

CrazyRabbit

I think we should defer this question until after Justin Bieber becomes president.

And may God help us all...

steve9859

goat2 wrote: »

who are ye all rooting for,

Romney

(but I've already been beaten up on all the other threads, so don't start!)

MistyCheese

Paddy Power are calling it early! They're already paying out on an Obama victory. Wonder will we see a repeat of Dewey defeats Truman?

Wacker The Attacker

Barack Obama is a failed president who has had no notable achievements in public life.

What is this universal popularity based on exactly?

peasant

Ho Chi Minh would have been fairly popular with a certain age group worldwide.

Gorbatchov did pretty well outside the USSR too

tfitzgerald

J.F.K. Gets my vote

Wacker The Attacker

CJH

asherbassad

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Has there ever been a more popular politician than Barack Obama worldwide?

I find his popularity absolutely extraordinary. I wouldn't really call myself a fan, but I do admire his seemingly huge popularity worldwide, however he gets it. I don't think there has ever been a more popular politician than him ever, I really don't.

The coverage the US election is getting in Ireland, the UK with Sky News is staggering. It seems people are more interested in this election than they are with local elections here, UK elections, or any other elections in europe. China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

So I think a lot of it is to do with Obama and his personal popularity, am I right? The guy is clearly hugely media savy, more popular than Jesus sometimes the way people rave about him.

Like I say I'm not a fan but I don't recall Clinton, Gore or Kerry getting anywhere near the amount of good luck messages Obama is getting. I assume when he goes in 2016, the election hype wont be quite the same.

In addition he was the first person to get 10 million twitter followers, beating Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. :pac:

Doubt Obama is very popular amongst Iraqis, Libyans, Afghans, Yemenis, Pakistanis, Palestinians, etc. Anyone who actually voted for him because he said he was going to do certain things probably hate his guts now too.
Sorry, Obama did keep one campaign promise. He did actually buy his kids a fcukin' dog.

I'd say Gorby was definitely more popular. And his wife was definitely a looker compared to her skeletal counterpart, Nancy.

peasant

...and then there would be this fella:

He only made "President" of the national bank (and minister for industrial development), but nothing beats his popularity

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/CheHigh.jpg/250px-CheHigh.jpg

darragh16

Bertie was fairly popular around 2002...

Zebra3

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Has there ever been a more popular politician than Barack Obama worldwide?

I find his popularity absolutely extraordinary. I wouldn't really call myself a fan, but I do admire his seemingly huge popularity worldwide, however he gets it. I don't think there has ever been a more popular politician than him ever, I really don't.

The coverage the US election is getting in Ireland, the UK with Sky News is staggering. It seems people are more interested in this election than they are with local elections here, UK elections, or any other elections in europe. China are arguably as big as a superpower as the US, they have elections shortly and its not getting anywhere near the coverage.

So I think a lot of it is to do with Obama and his personal popularity, am I right? The guy is clearly hugely media savy, more popular than Jesus sometimes the way people rave about him.

Like I say I'm not a fan but I don't recall Clinton, Gore or Kerry getting anywhere near the amount of good luck messages Obama is getting. I assume when he goes in 2016, the election hype wont be quite the same.

In addition he was the first person to get 10 million twitter followers, beating Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. :pac:

He continued America's War of Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Extened it into Pakistan and Yemen. Betrayed the Palestinians after promiing he would get them a state of their own, continues funding Israel despite its continued crimes against international law, and he stood up for Arab dictators whom pro-democracy groups were trying to overthrow.

Oh and he continued to steal american taxpayers money to give to the elite.

What a waste of a thread.

Capt'n Midnight

Gandhi
Dali Lama

EdenHazard

asherbassad wrote: »

Doubt Obama is very popular amongst Iraqis, Libyans, Afghans, Yemenis, Pakistanis, Palestinians, etc. Anyone who actually voted for him because he said he was going to do certain things probably hate his guts now too.
Sorry, Obama did keep one campaign promise. He did actually buy his kids a fcukin' dog.

I'd say Gorby was definitely more popular. And his wife was definitely a looker compared to her skeletal counterpart, Nancy.

I know Libyans, all pro Obama.

The One Who Knocks

Osam- ...yeah, on second thought, not going there

MJ23

Jackie Healy-Rae

Agricola

Zebra3 wrote: »

He continued America's War of Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Extened it into Pakistan and Yemen. Betrayed the Palestinians after promiing he would get them a state of their own, continues funding Israel despite its continued crimes against international law, and he stood up for Arab dictators whom pro-democracy groups were trying to overthrow.

Oh and he continued to steal american taxpayers money to give to the elite.

What a waste of a thread.

What a waste of a post more like. Expected him to pull out of Iraq on day one back in 2008 did you? Expect him to solve what many people would class an unsolvable situation in Israel, in his first term? I think your confusing Obama with Jesus Christ! If only politics was as simple as you seem to think it is, what a great world we would live in.

I don't remember him sending over US troops to help Gaddafi either???

As for why he is popular, well how many politicians anywhere in the world, could a 25 or 30 year old Joe Soap contemplate shooting the breeze with? Not many. Obama is hugely media savvy, people from all over the class divide identify with him, and he seems to be decent man anyway, many Americans who intend to vote for him quote his 'values' as the main reason. Also he came in after an abysmal Bush era, where the Presidency became a running joke. Most people in his position are older, are career politicians, and have spent so many years in the political bubble that they are almost as out of touch with the reality of life for normal people as the British royals. Obama is the anthesis of this. Or his PR is so good, thats the way he appears anyway!

My name is URL

Wacker The Attacker wrote: »

Barack Obama is a failed president who has had no notable achievements in public life.

http://whattheheckhasobamadonesofar.com/

cashback

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/us-election-international-poll_n_2066972.html

Apparently the world would vote for Obama. Pretty pointless poll though really.

poeticseraphim

Obama is not that popular at all.

Popularity polls are flawed if you ask popl who they prefer Obama or Romeny.

I would think if you asked people how much they rate Obama as a question alone you would find the response to be rather muted.

He is better than Romney.

But he has had four years and has not accomplished much.

Many would say this is republican obstructionism....but well shouldn't a good politician expect this and overcome it?

I would vote for him ...but only because i don't want to vote for Romney.

I don't rate him that highly. And it is clear that the right wing pervades all American politics now.

Whe you look at Obama's past career he has the bosses a republican would have had years ago.

The truth is ....he is not popular.....or even that respected as a politician ..he has been hidden away from criticism and his party and pr machine have not put a foot wrong.

It is not that he is popular...Romney is just very unpopular right now as is the GOP worldwide....THAT is the phenomenon you actually should be interested in.

I am not saying a lot of that is not deserved. There has been a death of true conservatism in America. But the whole hate for the American Right in Europe is an interesting phenomenon.

I think it is because the Right is usually more nationalist and in Europe the right is suking up to the US.

Anyway..in the US opinion swings wildly..they loved Clinton....then they hated him...now they love him again...they loved Bush ...now they hate him....they loved Blair ...now they hate him.


In Ireland we are much more constant in our opinions and favor or dislike I think (maybe I am wrong).

I see Obama being much more disliked if he wins this second term and does not prform a LOT better..and i mean A LOT better. He has gotten off lightly this term.

goat2

romney also my hope

LivelineDipso

the obsession with Obama gives me the creeps, especially the way Irish media and civil servants treat him like a God. I do not get it at all.

He would bomb Ireland in a minute if the oil companies told him too. They all would.

AlmightyCushion

Kim Jong Il, the glorious leader that he is.

tfitzgerald

Wacker The Attacker wrote: »

CJH

Ah . The Boss, God bless him