This Makes Me Feel Better

Not great, not ecstatic, but better. It is relieving to know that others aren't (rightfully) hatin' on and fearful of my nation. (From the NYT)

WASHINGTON — A new global survey has found a vast improvement in views of the United States since the election of President Barack Obama. But it also finds broad opposition to one of his key policies — sending more troops to Afghanistan — and confirms a drop in confidence in the United States among Israelis.

Mr. Obama, according to the survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, enjoys greater confidence among Germans than does Chancellor Angela Merkel, and among the French than President Nicolas Sarkozy. His election in itself, pollsters found, helped restore the United States’ image abroad to levels unseen since the Clinton years.

Followup: OH my! You have to read the whole piece- I had only read the first four or five paragraphs. Some of the stats are stunning. Among Britons: Confidence that Bush "would do the right thing:" 16%. Obama? 86%. And there's this:

For the first time since Pew began making the comparison, people in Turkey, Egypt, and Indonesia — all predominantly Muslim nations — expressed greater confidence in the American president than in Osama bin Laden.

How does it make you feel to know we have a President that inspires more confidence than bin Laden? Like I said, relieved.