Stung

All through the campaign, I've figured that if the horrible state of U.S. relations with the rest of the planet will be corrected by simply electing Barack, then perhaps the claimed crisis is not so big.

From Beijing's streets to France's Elysee Palace, common citizens and leaders of the world greeted Barack Obama's election largely as a sign of hope that America would mend torn international relations and lead the way out of global economic turmoil.

"I am so happy Obama won," said Mao Xiaoqing, 21, an economics student in Beijing. "I think he will take some creative actions about the economic crisis. It's the main problem for America and the rest of the world."

Now, it seems Barack has straightened everything out - and he's only President-elect!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Obama's election "has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond."

It turns out that the hatred was only skin deep. The world wanted a rock star, just as the American media did, and now that they've gotten one, all is well.

In Germany, where more than 200,000 people flocked to see Obama this summer as he burnished his foreign policy credentials during a trip to the Middle East and Europe, the election dominated television ticker crawls, newspaper headlines and websites.

Obama-mania was evident not only across Europe but also in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation.

Where does all this faith find its power?

"I have high expectations for Obama," said Yasuhiko Mizutani, a Japanese entrepreneur who owns a toy factory in southern China.

Mizutani said he hoped an Obama administration could salvage the sinking U.S. economy before it drags Asia into recession. "If something goes wrong with America, the Japanese economy will crash," he said.

If the Brits will just elect Sting, maybe we can keep this thing going.