Why Obama needs Europe

Barack Obama is coming to Europe. He has had a rough couple of weeks that have seen his steady six-point lead over John McCain cut nearly in half. After a handful of pirouettes on certain issues Obama is now seen by just more than half of Americans as someone who will tailor his positions for political advantage. McCain has done just as much so-called flip-flopping, if not more. And there is this difference between the two: whereas Obama8217;s 8220;refinements8221; have been toward the centre8230; McCain8217;s have been entirely towards the far right. He has abandoned the views that once marked him as a Republican maverick, and embraced the Bush agenda. Most of the media have failed to note this utterly crucial distinction. The result is that Obama has paid a higher price for his changes than McCain has.

So Obama needs an event that can break this narrative. The domestic impact of Obama8217;s trip will pry open a window on to the fundamental question of this campaign8230; To wit: has Bush failed so completely that Americans are ready to reject many of the conservative assumptions that have governed their thinking since Ronald Reagan8217;s ascendancy8230;? Asked more directly: have Bush8217;s failures been failures of ideology or merely of competence? If the former, then we can feel pretty safe predicting a smashing Democratic victory. If the latter, though, it could mean that voters are still OK with conservative governance 8212; they just want someone who will administer it competently.

It8217;s the dominant open question of this race. Here8217;s where Europe fits in. Six years ago, no prominent Democrat would have set foot in France or Germany. They were 8220;old Europe8221;. Enemies of freedom. With this trip, Obama wants to signal: 8220;No more of that. I will govern an America that will commit itself to liberal internationalism again8230;8221; If the trip is gaffe-free, he will be received by adoring crowds. He and his people surely hope that the images of those swooning crowds, transmitted back to America, will remind his countrymen of Bush8217;s worst failures, and why they were in fact failures of ideology and not merely of competence8230; And, team Obama hopes, Americans will say to themselves: 8220;Yes, that was a disgrace. No more of that. I8217;m with Obama.8221;

Excerpted from a comment by Michael Tomasky in 8216;The Guardian8217;