A Vote Heard 'Round The World'

Obamamania
Poles are obsessed with the new president elect. Here's what they want him to do.
By Michal Kobosko
Special Guest Columnist

The winner takes it all. I have loved ABBA's "Mamma Mia" musical since I first saw it in New York's Winter Garden theater a few years ago. And those were the lyrics sounding in my head when it became clear that Barack Obama won the White House race. Wow, a night to remember! Certainly, it was a long night, waiting for the results in Warsaw as well. I spent it jumping from one TV station to another, where I was commenting on the elections, and then a longer while at the Warsaw Intercontinental Hotel, where the U.S. Embassy had its election-night party. It was hugely crowded, with a few hundred excited Americans and Poles: discussing, drinking—even dancing. The clear majority there wore Obama-Biden badges ...

Indeed, the Polish media has been obsessed with the U.S. election. In recent days, news about the vote has been splashed over cover pages, television and radio, to the point where it seemed that Poland had become a 51st state. No local news, no Polish politics, Russian or European Union issues—just the U.S.A, Obama, McCain and the implications of the U.S. election for Europe and Poland, but mainly Obama.

This reflects the fact that Poles were among the top Obamamaniacs in Europe. The most recent polls showed an astonishing 65 percent support for Obama with just 20 percent support for McCain. That makes a significant shift in Polish perception of U.S. politics: traditionally Poles both in Poland and those populating Chicago and New York have been loyal supporters of the GOP. So "change" has already come to Poland.

We do have our own expectations of President Obama. Firstly, that he end the visa requirement for visiting Polish citizens. Congress has lifted this requirement for other former communist countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania, leaving Poland the only country in the region still facing this obligation. Dear Congress, make real change and lift the visa burden for Poles. We fully deserve it.

The second point is the antimissile shield project. Poland and the Czech Republic have both signed preliminary agreements to allow parts of the shield to be located on its territories. We see this project not only as a military tool against bad guys, but also as a project leveraging Polish-American good relations to a new 21st-century level. Now we need a clear answer, if the Obama administration would go on with this project, to when, how and on what terms. Whatever happens, Poles are excited about the coming new order in Washington. God bless the U.S.—and us!

—Michal Kobosko is the editor of NEWSWEEK Polska, NEWSWEEK's Polish-language partner published through a licensing agreement with Axel Springer Polska

Tokyo Report
In Japan, Obama's victory is celebrated with T shirts, slogans—and just a few lingering questions.
By Takashi Yokota
Special Guest Commentary

Barack Obama's "change" mantra has already become part of the Japanese lexicon. A popular television drama series was called simply "Change." A mobile phone carrier used the word as its slogan and even high-level politicians have started adopting the term. The president elect's victory is resonating with many Japanese, who see it as a historic facelift for Washington. And it brought particular joy to a port city named Obama in western Japan, where hundreds partied today with "I Love Obama" T shirts.

But on the political level, we have yet to see a clear vision of his Asia policy, which obviously is overshadowed by Afghanistan and Iran. Other than the certainty that Obama will do away with the Bush years by bringing in a fresh administration, many foreign-policy questions linger here in Tokyo. Along with maintaining its alliance with Japan, how will Obama deal with China? Can he craft a sensible and robust North Korea policy? And in the short-term, will the president-elect ask Japan to step-up its assistance in Afghanistan?

Obama says he will renew American diplomacy by maintaining strong alliances and emphasizing multilateral dialogue. The rhetoric is encouraging, but the question is, what will it bring in the way of substance and quality? As we saw in President George Bush's diplomacy in dealing with North Korea's nukes, a willingness to talk with adversaries is not enough. For all of Bush's pursuit of engagement and diplomacy in his second term, he ended up signing-off on a weak-kneed nuclear "disablement" and verification deal that is widely criticized by moderates and hawks from both sides of the Pacific. This is not to discredit diplomacy and engagement—the problem was that the diplomacy practiced by Bush was done in haste, with little knowledge of North Korea's negotiating behavior and the history involved. After all, the last thing allies like Japan and South Korea want is for an issue to be treated like an afterthought.