World Is Riveted to US Race

They may not have any say in its outcome, but people all over the world are giving the race for the White House an almost unprecedented level of attention, reports the New York Times, with a special focus on the Democratic contest.  Many hope a new president will bring fresh policies. "There is a desperate sense of need that there must be something better than Bush out there,” said a European expert.

The possibility of America having its first black president has captured imaginations in Germany, where newspapers have compared Barack Obama to JFK. Latin Americans think Latino immigrants would be better off under with Obama in the White House, while Israelis believe they'd be more secure with Hillary in the top job. In India, a professor expressed hope that a new president would "lift America and the world up." (More Barack Obama stories.)