Obama Overseas: The Man America Should Elect?

In case you were not aware, Sen. Barack Obama has flown over to the middle east. It's a trip that can basically be described as a way to help increase where he stands on foreign policy and the War on Terror. I, along with many others, applaud the Illinois senator on finally taking such action. If one who is running for president of the country plans on talking like he or she knows what's going taking place on the other side of the world, especially if it affects this country, one must go and see for one's self.

Israelis and Palestinians on Obama:

Charles Gibson, anchor of ABC's World News, was one of the many journalists following Sen. Obama through Jerusalem. In the evening Gibson stopped at some of the local cafe's to get the opinions of what the locals though of Obama, and to ask as to whether or not Obama or John McCain could make a real difference in the region- they found considerable skepticism. One Palestinian girl said that they have been disappointed so many times with the U.S., saying all the policies are the same and are followed the same way- just doesn’t give a da*n about it anymore. Some Israelis and Palestinians don't care about what Obama says, they're more interested in his actions. A young Palestinian man sees Obama's trip as nothing more than a reason to boost his foreign policy credentials. One woman says that attraction to Obama is because he’s different- he’s young, he’s black, and he’s a minority. One Palestinian man said, " We need a change, ...that’s why we need a new face like Obama, to have a change, because McCain is another Bush."

But while ABC reported this outlook on Obama, Katie Couric of CBS's Evening News had this to say when sitting down with the senator, "...according to a recent poll out of Jerusalem, Israeli Jews favor John McCain for President 43 to 20 percent, with one-third undecided. Why do you think that's the case?"

Said Obama, "Well, I think it … I'm not as well known as John McCain. I think that's obviously a factor. And, you know, I think, understandably, Israelis are very interested in making sure that whoever takes the White House is absolutely committed to their security, regardless of other issues. And they know John McCain. He's been there. Despite the fact that my record is as strong as John McCain's on all the issues related to Israeli security, people just don't know me as well. That's part of the reason why we're gonna spend a day visiting there in discussions and hopefully give people confidence that I have a track record that will assure not only the people of Israel, but friends of Israel back home, that, in fact, Israel's security is paramount."

With Israelis and Palestinians debating their personal feelings of Barack Obama, how important or meaningful are their views when some say he's the man America should elect?