World Likes Obama Much More Than Bush

The world likes President Obama a lot more than it likes President Bush. The world’s opinion of US leadership is at a median 51%, according to Gallup. That may not sound stratospheric, but it’s the highest it’s been since Gallup began asking the question in 2005, the Chicago Tribune explains. Bush’s last reading gave him a lowly 34%.

Since then the perception of the US has improved dramatically in all four major global regions, especially Europe, a region that particularly despised Bush. Obama’s highest overall approval ratings came from Africa, or at least, the part south of the Sahara; the numbers in mainly Arab areas like Egypt remain pretty low. (More Gallup poll stories.)