Poll: Obama's Nobel in Context

In lieu of President Obama's Nobel win, the German Marshal fund offers up some data to confirm Obama's European popularity:

Polls in 11 European Union countries and Turkey carried out by GMF and its partners in June 2009 document European enthusiasm toward Obama. Three-in-four (77%) respondents in the European Union and Turkey support President Obama’s handling of international affairs, compared to just one-in-five (19%) who approved of President Bush’s foreign policy in 2008.

The polls also show that the Obama bounce could produce tangible outcomes for America’s relationship with Europe.

The people polled within the European Union are now more likely to think that the United States and the European Union now have enough common values to be able cooperate on international problems. In 2008, only 58% of them agreed that they have enough common values with Americans; a year later, this number increased by 13 percentage points to 71%. The jump in perceived common values is especially remarkable in Germany, where 76% think there are enough common values now, up from 54% in 2008. Other countries show similar trends, including France, the U.K., and the Netherlands.

The desirability that the United States exerts strong leadership in world affairs has also increased under Obama’s presidency.