Obama on tour: 'If it's Saturday, it must be London'

The Democratic presidential candidate has shored up his foreign-policy credentials with his carefully orchestrated globe-trotting. But it remains to be seen whether this will impress the folks back home, says Foreign Editor Raymond Whitaker

It is a commonplace of American presidential elections that candidates make overseas trips to acquire the necessary foreign-policy gravitas, but has there ever been a tour like this?

Barack Obama is now back home after an eight-day tour of eight countries and the Palestinian West Bank, during which he was treated as though he was already in the White House. Even though the diplomatic niceties were observed, most of his hosts appeared to be calculating that he would win his contest with John McCain in November. And when he reached Berlin, where he gave the keynote speech of his trip, the public reacted as though the Rolling Stones had come to town, rather than a politician looking for votes.

This effect was far from unintentional: in London, for instance, it was reported that the local chapter of Democrats Abroad had been discouraged from producing campaign literature and waving banners, in case their hero looked too much like a candidate and not yet a statesman for the ages. In Germany, such image management worked so well that at least one official accidentally called him "Mr President".

Even people who already have that title jostled to be seen with the charismatic newcomer. In France, Nicolas Sarkozy boasted to Le Figaro that he had known Mr Obama since they met in Washington in 2006, and that he had always known the Illinois senator would win the Democratic nomination. "He's my friend. I'm the only one in France who knows him."

How well such adulation will go down at home is another matter. It was not so long ago that the French were being stigmatised as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" in the parts of America that Europeans tend to forget about, which may explain why the candidate spent only three hours there and 10 times as long in Germany. London, England, may love Barack Obama, but The Independent on Sunday could not find anyone in London, Texas, who planned to vote for him in November (see panel). Mr McCain is still running his opponent close in the polls.

Still, with the US journalistic elite, including three network anchors, joining his media entourage, the Democrat was winning the battle for domestic coverage hands down. And that, in case anyone has forgotten, was the point of the exercise. Mr Obama now has the photographs and footage to contradict anyone who quest-ions his foreign-policy credentials. Do not expect him to stir beyond America's borders for the rest of the campaign, which has a little more than three months left to run: from now on it will be hog roasts and corn on the cob all the way.

That transition was evident on the final leg of the trip, when he answered suggestions that he was spending too much time abroad by telling CNN he had been lobbying for more European troops for Afghanistan. That would mean fewer US troops, and the money saved could be invested in "providing tax cuts to middle-class families struggling with gas prices". Indeed, the first half of his trip, which began with his arrival in Afghanistan last Saturday after a brief stop in Kuwait, was the more important in terms of US domestic politics.

Shortly before his tour, Mr Obama called for another two combat brigades, or about 7,000 more US troops, to be sent to Afghanistan. "We have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent ... and I believe this has to be the central focus, the central front, in the battle against terrorism," he said after his arrival.

Since Mr McCain also wants to beef up the US presence there, this will not be a point of dispute during the campaign. The clash will come over what to do about the Democrat's next stop – Iraq.

Mr Obama's bid for the White House could succeed or fail on the most distinctive of his proposals – one of his few concrete policies, his enemies might say – which is to end the American military presence in Iraq within 16 months. Mr McCain, by contrast, has spoken of the US possibly being in Iraq for 100 years.

So whose problem is it that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, publicly endorsed the Obama deadline, or that Gordon Brown's plans for Britain's troops, announced last week, also dovetail with the Democrat's timetable? Curiously enough, it could be Mr Obama's. It will not be difficult for Mr McCain to point out that his plan relies on the recent improvement in security in Iraq, which, he argues, will disappear if US troops are withdrawn. The Democrat has little room for manoeuvre if circumstances change, and he seemed unusually hesitant when pressed on this point in Jordan, where he gave his main Middle East press conference.

However, even Iraq had less potential for disaster than Israel and the West Bank. Wholly uncritical support for Israel is the default position for any US politician who wants the votes of Jews and most evangelical Christians back home. It has been the policy of the White House for the past two terms, and of Mr McCain. Introducing any nuance, let alone proposing talks with Iran, as Mr Obama has done, is a risk, as was going to Ramallah to meet Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Obama steered successfully between all the pitfalls, condemning terrorism but also assuring Mr Abbas of his support for a two-state solution, defending contact with Iran while assuring suspicious Israelis that, once president, he would not compromise their security. Being photographed in a yarmulke at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and praying at the Western Wall served as an antidote to internet rumour-mongers who claim that he is a secret Muslim.

Once free of the Middle East minefield, it was on to Europe, and his ecstatic reception in the German capital, where the aim was to conjure up the spirit of John F Kennedy. Though some found Mr Obama's barked delivery far from reminiscent of the last senator to be elected president, 200,000 Berliners hailed his admission that "in Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common".

In Europe, where Mr Obama leads Mr McCain by miles in the polls, it is a given that electing the Illinois senator would help to "make the world right". But when George W Bush was in Obama's position eight years ago, his foreign tour was the most perfunctory of any candidate in living memory, and he repeatedly flunked foreign policy quizzes set for him by interviewers, and yet he won, twice. Could adulation abroad doom Barack Obama to defeat at home?

Afghanistan: 19 July
"I believe this has to be the central focus, the central front, in the battle against terrorism"
He met: President Hamid Karzai, Nato Commander General David McKiernan
The main issues: Mr Obama highlighted the importance he places on Afghanistan in the war on terror by making it his first major stop. Cross-border raids into Taliban strongholds in Pakistan and more troops are likely under is presidency.

Iraq: 21 July
"It is very important we build on this progress and recognise Iraqi sovereignty"
He met: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, General David Petraeus, British Major-General Barney White-Spunner
The main issues: Mr Obama reiterated his commitment to withdraw American troops within 16 months, putting him at odds with the top US General, David Petraeus, and other senior commanders. But his plans got support from the Iraqi PM.

Israel & the West Bank: 23 July
"I continue to say that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel. I have said it before and will say it again Israel & the West Bank | 23 July"
He met: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
Palestinian: President Mahmoud Abbas
The main issues: Mr Obama promised to move quickly to re-focus the Middle East peace talks as he pledged support for both Israel and Palestine. Senior Israeli cabinet ministers said they were willing to accept his plans for face-to-face talks with Iran.

Berlin, Germany: 24 July
"In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world has become all too common"
He met: Chancellor Angela Merkel
The main issues: In front of thousands, he offered a generally conciliatory message about the need for Americans and Europeans to work together. Climate change, human rights and terrorism were all identified as pressing issues as Mr Obama urged Europe to take a more active role in world security.

Paris, France: 25 July
"The average American has an enormous fondness for the French people"
He met: President Nicolas Sarkozy
The main issues: While Mr Sarkozy appeared to endorse Mr Obama as the next US President, the senator was slightly more sparing in his praise for France. Iran’s uranium enrichmentprogramme and French troops in Afghanistan were emphasised by both men.

London: 26 July
"I wouldn't even be surprised if in some polls we saw a drop as we'll have been out of the United States for a week"
He met: Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, David Cameron, George Osborne, William Hague
The main issues: Mr Obama offered the Prime Minister some consolation as the fallout from the Glasgow by-election continued. The global economic situation was high on the agenda as both countries try to deal with the consequences of turbulent financial markets. Both men agreed to increase efforts in Afghanistan. The withdrawal of troops from Iraq is bound to have been discussed privately.