Published: August 03, 2008 12:42 am            

Europe's pick for president

If the throngs of enthusiastic supporters that greeted Senator Obama during last week's overseas tour were any indication, Europeans clearly favor him over John McCain. A YouGov poll conducted for the London Daily Telegraph showed support for Obama over McCain 67 to 6 percent in Germany; 70 to 15 in Italy, and 65 to 8 in France.

Buoyed by his successful trip, Senator Obama exulted in a recent speech, "This is the moment the world is waiting for." Although Europe may have unofficially spoken, however, polls here at home show that this Presidential election is far from over.

It's not surprising that Europeans prefer Barack Obama. Europe's philosophy of government fostered by its history is far different from the traditional American ideal of limited government favored by conservatives like John McCain.

Centuries before America came to be, feudal monarchs ruled Europe through centrally controlled and planned economies where private property and free enterprise were subordinate to the will of the State. Although monarchies eventually lost power and became obsolete, they were gradually replaced by a democratic style of socialism in which an all-pervasive central government still dominates the economy from on high through taxation and regulations on private business. The resulting socialist nanny State encourages citizens to look to the government rather than themselves for provision and prosperity.

America's history shaped our mentality in a profoundly different way. Our early settlers were a combination of Pilgrims, explorers, and the politically oppressed who left their homelands to carve an existence out of an untamed wilderness. The pioneers and homesteaders who settled this land inherently distrusted government and disliked taxes. For the most part, they were self-reliant risk takers who believed in God-given rights to liberty, property, and self-defense. Early Americans viewed government as a servant not a master, a necessary evil responsible for infrastructure, a judiciary, national defense, and little else.

This historical difference between European style socialism and American individualism is what separates Left and Right, liberalism and conservatism, Marxism and Capitalism. And this unique heritage we share as Americans made us the freest, most prosperous nation the world had ever known.

Sadly, however, America has steadily drifted away from our limited government beginnings. Ever since FDR's New Deal and LBJ's so-called War on Poverty, the American quest for opportunity is slowly being replaced by a desire for security guaranteed by the government. Liberals seek to accelerate this trend while conservatives are attempting to reverse course. We're still a long ways away from European socialism, but unfortunately we're closing the distance.

Perhaps Europeans love Barak Obama because they see him as the kindred spirit able to bridge the gap between East and West by reshaping America into the European mold. Not only are Obama's Leftist economic policies much closer to European socialism than American style free enterprise, his foreign policy also mimics the softer approach toward Islamic terrorism favored in Paris and Brussels.

An Obama Administration would undoubtedly be well received throughout Europe and the Arab world. And that should give any voter pause. Obama may fancy his Presidency to be the moment the world has been waiting for. But I'm no citizen of the world. I'm an American first--and only. And I believe our limited government ideal is worth defending at the ballot box just as our national security is worth defending anywhere on the globe.



Craig Ziemba is a pilot who lives in Meridian. To schedule Craig to speak at your event, email him at craigziemba@aol.com.

        

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