America in Transition

This week the primary campaigns became national, with ad buys and travel from California to Alabama to Minnesota. For the past year, though, observers around the world have watched the candidates in newspapers, television, and the Internet.

The candidates—Democrats physically, Republicans ideologically—resemble a cast of the characteristic diverse America. From last week’s New York Times:

The personalities of the Democratic contest in particular — the potential harbinger of America’s first African-American or female president — have fascinated outsiders as much as, if not more than, the candidates’ policies on Iraq, immigration or global finances.

And there is a palpable sense that, while democratic systems seem clunky and uninspiring to voters in many parts of the Western world, America offers a potential model for reinvigoration.

In these last days before Super Tuesday, international media are giving their readers all the details.

In the UK, many newspapers have sections devoted to the U.S. elections, many writing as prolifically as American journalists on the topic. The Guardian, in addition to its Guardian America service, tracks developments in the race on at least a daily basis. The Times of London, now owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., devotes front page pieces to the race this weekend. The Economist this week offers no fewer than five articles on the election, describing topics from twittering to analysis of McCain’s win in Florida.

Papers throughout the rest of Europe follow suit. In Germany, Der Spiegel foreshadows Super Tuesday and Die Zeit provides a form for former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to ask the candidates twelve questions. Le Monde and Le Figaro find room for analysis of the election amid news that French President Sarkozy has married, and La Repubblica in Italy links to a new Obama Girl video. [links in original languages]

This is just a sampling of news and cover stories around the world; as the NYT notes, readers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are particularly engaged this election season as well. From time to time, interest is piqued and U.S. news becomes world news. Readers this primary season may be as hopeful of change as many Americans.

Update: James Forsyth at FP Passport noted on Friday afternoon the same phenomenon, saying the election has brought the world to change the way it sees America, or at least until the honeymoon is over and most realize that the U.S. has not become the internationalist nation for which they hope.

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