Washington: A year after US President Barack Obama entered the White House with a promise to restore the country's image in the world, a majority of Americans now
believe that the nation's image has improved considerably, a latest poll has said.
After five years, when fewer than half of Americans believed the US was seen favourably in the eyes of the world, a poll conducted by Gallup says 51 per cent now say the nation
is viewed favourably, up from 45 per cent a year ago.
Gallup said 56 per cent of Americans believe leaders of other countries around the world respect Barack Obama.
While this is lower than the soaring 67 per cent who perceived this a year ago, shortly after Obama took office, it continues to far outpace the levels received by former
presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton during their terms.
Gallup said only Bush achieved a similarly high percentage on this measure (in the first few months after 9/11), but that quickly eroded as international criticism of him over the Iraq war mounted after 2002.
However, even prior to 9/11, fewer than half of Americans thought Bush was well-regarded internationally.
The same was true for Clinton in the two measurements taken toward the beginning and toward the end of his presidency, in 1994 and 2000, it said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 11:17