By Michael Kehs
  General Manager, Washington Office &
  Head of US Public Affairs
  Hill & Knowlton US

The 2008 U.S. presidential election, with all its circus-like theatrics, is for the moment “the greatest show on earth.” Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, the remaining major-party candidates, are performing the final high-wire act of a unique and historic election cycle that began two years ago with more credible candidates (14) and more fundraising dollars (an estimated $1 billion and still counting) involved than ever before.

McCain and Obama – reaching out beyond America to a global audience

International media outlets have kept pace by providing in-depth coverage of the campaigns for readers at home, but they also have a growing following in the U.S. While the old adage that “all politics is local” still rings true, American politicians now consider – and embrace – the impact of the increased attentiveness to U.S. elections by global media. And, because more and more Americans are adding international sources to their daily news diet, global media are, to a certain extent, increasingly able to influence perception of the candidates at home.

What drives this dynamic? The unprecedented level of foreign interest in this year’s presidential race is certainly a factor. A poll released by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan “fact tank,” revealed people around the world expect the next U.S. president to improve the country’s policies toward the rest of the world. Furthermore, substantial numbers in most countries reported that they are closely following this year’s American election, including 83% in Japan – about the same proportion as respondents in the U.S.

This year’s election proceedings owe their popularity in the global arena to a number of circumstances, including the powerful demographics in play. For the first time in history – and the same election cycle – the U.S. has seen an African-American running on the ticket of a major national party; a female vice presidential nominee in Alaska Governor Sarah Palin; and an epic battle for the Democratic Party nomination involving a former First Lady and current U.S. Senator from New York Hillary Clinton. Reporters from international news outlets have remarked that these powerful social and cultural narratives influence their coverage of the U.S. presidential race and excite their readership.

Adding to that excitement, the U.S. presidential candidates made high-profile campaign stops abroad. Both traveled through Europe and the Middle East, and McCain met with Columbian President Alvaro Uribe on a second one-day jaunt in early July. These trips made American politics a “local” story in the host countries and created a ripple-effect of coverage around the world. For the candidates and their campaign strategists, of course, the “real audience” was the voters back home and the trips afforded them valuable opportunities to polish their foreign policy credentials, influence voter attitudes, and (at least in the case of Obama) secure wall-to-wall positive media coverage domestically and internationally.

All this travel and courting of international press is remarkable and increasingly understandable politically. According to National Public Radio in the U.S., no candidate who is not a sitting president has traveled overseas during a campaign since 1992. Steve Clemons, a policy analyst with the New America Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank, recently observed: “[The candidates are] almost trying to reach those foreign audiences. I think that’s something new. You’ve got to sell the international audiences to make yourself look credible.”

Global media can help bestow that credibility. While domestic news outlets exert the greatest influence on U.S. voter perceptions, more and more, Americans are “traveling” online to international outlets to get their news and analysis. In a 2005 survey, Nielsen/NetRatings reported that BBC News ranked seventh for U.S. unique users of news websites worldwide. Websites for The Guardian, The Times (London), Evening Standard and Independent all ranked within the top 35. In fact, a 2007 Niesen/NetRatings study found that the UK’s two largest “quality” newspaper websites -- Guardian Unlimited and TimesOnline – had more American readers than British.

Indeed, an article published last year in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism by Neil Thurman, a senior lecturer at City University, Americans make up an average of 36 percent of the online audience for British news websites. It’s only reasonable to assume that a nation of immigrants like the U.S. would also supply a good share of the online readership in English and native language newsites from Bogotá to Berlin, Moscow to Mumbai, Jerusalem to Jakarta. The reflection of U.S. politics that Americans see through these off-shore lenses could impact their view of the choices on election day.

The coming weeks will be crucial, as the high-flying teams of McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden seek to thrill voters with speeches, debates, rallies and attack ads. While the sagging economy and meltdown on Wall Street have seized the center ring, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the candidates’ foreign policy credentials and the standing of America in the world will all play big roles in the show. The entire spectacle will be chronicled and transmitted around the world by an attentive international press corps. Regardless of the outcome, the U.S. political process will have gained global mindshare and the American voters’ connection to world opinion will be more intimate, thanks to media’s expanding reach and accessibility. Campaign strategists and communications professionals would be wise to adopt a world view before the next campaign cycle begins anew.