Primaries: A Global Perspective

LONDON — If there are Republicans in the race for the presidency, you wouldn't have known it in Europe, where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem like the only game in town.

The relative strengths of Mrs. Clinton vis a vis Mr. Obama are analyzed endlessly in newspapers. Few Europeans could pick Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, out of a lineup.

In Britain, even some Conservatives have been lured to the Democratic camp. Simon Burns, a Tory member of Parliament, blames the Republicans for waging a war in Iraq whose unpopularity in Europe knows no bounds.

Europeans tend to accuse America, with its off-the-books arrests and rough interrogations of terrorism suspects, of squandering the moral leadership of Western democracies. People "want the Americans to be a beacon to the world," Philippe Maniere of the non-partisan Institut Montaigne in Paris said. "Even if they're not."

CAIRO — The next American president will inherit the Iraq war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a rising Iran, and competition from the growing economies of India and China for oil in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations.

Still, the feeling here is that no matter who wins the White House, there is bound to be an improvement in relations.

In a part of the world where democracy and minority rights are largely token, the Middle East elite is captivated by the Democratic race between Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama. The two candidacies are seen as epitomizing democracy, suggesting that the presidency is open to anyone willing to endure town-hall meetings, Internet chats, slick ads, and televised debates.

The ideal American president for the region is seen as someone who can balance military power and diplomacy. Israelis had preferred Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York, but with his exit from the Republican campaign, they're inclined toward Mr. McCain or Mrs. Clinton.

BEIJING — To many Asians, the American electoral system is a mystery, the candidates have strange names, and it's not always clear how they view Asia's interests.

China has learned that, no matter what they say in the campaign, American presidents eventually engage with Beijing, given its growing clout.

In Indonesia, it's all Mr. Obama. "Obama is considered one of us because he was here when he was a child, he had an Indonesian stepfather, and he knows how to speak Indonesian," a political commentator, Rizal Mallarangeng, said.

Japan is watching for signs of its greatest fear: being ignored by its only real ally. There's little love lost in many sake bars for Mrs. Clinton, whose husband was perceived as favoring China.

India also is cool toward Mrs. Clinton, because her husband is thought to have favored China and Pakistan at India's expense. "She's viewed as a co-president of Bill," a political science professor at Madras Christian College, Lawrence Prabhakar, said.

BUENOS AIRES — The perceived immigrant-bashing of Republican presidential hopefuls has drawn fury in neighboring Mexico, where American policies may resonate more than anywhere else.

President Calderon complained recently that the candidates have competed to be "the most loudmouth, the most macho, and the most anti-Mexican."

Many Mexicans are able to watch American television and so are exposed to the unfolding political spectacle to the north. And the Obama phenomenon has spurred interest among the huge populations with African ancestry in the Caribbean, Brazil, and elsewhere.

Mr. Obama "has turned the U.S. political status quo upside down," wrote the Peruvian novelist and ex-presidential aspirant, Mario Vargas Llosa. An Obama presidency, he said, "is no longer a chimera, but a very realistic possibility."

Some in Latin America have expressed hopes for renewed American engagement in the region after what they call a Mideast-obsessed Bush administration.

"I think it's very important that the United States strengthen its presence in Latin America, not only when there are problems but also when there is a chance to work together," Senator Alvear of Chile said last week.

In Venezuela, there is some sentiment that the hostility between Washington and President Chavez could diminish with a new occupant in the White House.