'Re-branding' the USA: fairly or not, America's reputation around the globe has suffered in recent years. Can a President Obama help restore our image?

• Author: Kristof, Nicholas D.
• Position: OPINION

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We're beginning to get a sense of how Barack Obama's presidency could change global perceptions of the United States, redefining the American "brand" to be less about Guantanamo and more about equality. This change in perceptions could help rebuild American political capital in the way that the Berlin Airlift did in the late 1940s, the Marshall Plan did in the 1950s, or John F. Kennedy's presidency did in the early 1960s.

In his endorsement of Obama fast month, former Secretary of State Colin Powell noted that "the new President is going to have to fix the reputation that we've left with the rest of the world." That's because cooperation is essential to address 21st-century challenges: You can't fire cruise missiles at the global financial crisis.

Powell, a Republican who served under George W. Bush, added that an Obama election would "not only electrify our country, I think it'll electrify the world." Before Erection Day, a 22-nation BBC survey found that voters abroad preferred Obama to McCain in every single country--by four to one over air. Nearly half of the respondents said an Obama victory would "fundamentally change" their perceptions of the U.S.

Europe has particularly embraced Obama. As The Economist magazine put it: "Across the Continent, Bush hatred has been replaced by Obama-mania." And white Europeans rove to mock American politics, they also acknowledge that it's hard to imagine someone black or brown as the leader of France or Germany.

As for Africa, Obama's...