Read today’s German newspapers (or try to, as I did in Berlin) in print and online, and it becomes readily apparent that President Obama isn’t having a very good month, so far. But the headlines don’t tell the full story.
A new international Pew poll shows that a declining majority of German citizens still approve of President Obama, down to 52 percent among those surveyed from 64 percent three years ago. And on the surface that number appears alarming. Berlin, after all, is where Mr. Obama campaigned for the American presidency in the summer of 2008, drawing a massive crowd of 100,000 and comparisons to John F. Kennedy in a city where there is now a Kennedy museum.
In short, Germans are disappointed with President Obama. In particular, with his policy of employing drone strikes on terrorism suspects, which likely isn’t going to be at the list of any reason why Americans are disappointed with Mr. Obama’s performance. Only 38 percent of those surveyed approved of the Obama administration’s strategy (just 37 percent in France).
But despite President Obama’s declining approval ratings on the European continent, an overwhelming majority see no reason to change course. Nearly nine in 10 say they’d like to see Mr. Obama elected to a second term.
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