New York Observer: "Obamamania! Europe Can't Get Enough"

"It's fortunate for Mrs. Clinton that the Europeans can't vote in the primaries. If the mania for the 2008 Democratic primary has gripped European readers, it's really all about Barack Obama.

Last month, for example, Mr. Obama was featured on the cover of the weekly French newsmagazine L’Express, with the headline, “Qui est Barack Obama?” (Who is Barack Obama?) The story described him as the Michael Jordan of politics, the prodigy from Chicago, and asked, "Is he the black J.F.K.?" He has also been on the cover of several other best-selling French newsmagazines... In France, said Mr. Herbert, Mr. Obama is seen as “being one of us, a foreigner. They don’t just see a black candidate; they see him as being able to identify with the outside world, as someone who understands how Europeans and the rest of the world view America, as being able to bridge that gap.”

Mr. Obama has also succeeded in seducing the Italians, according to Christopher P. Winner, the editor and publisher of The American, a monthly magazine based in Rome... “The Obama factor is something entirely different with the Italian media,” Mr. Winner said. “They’ve decided that he is the millennial version of J.F.K. Because of his global roots, he is an intrinsically more attractive figure."

Global roots: in fact, Europeans seem to think that Mr. Obama is such a break from American politics as usual that he is, well, almost European." (19 Feb, New York Observer)