Obama Economics: Domestic vs Abroad

In an interesting poll courtesy of Bloomberg, it appears that President Obama's economic leadership is much more popular abroad than here in the U.S:

"In Europe and Asia, 87% of respondents say they view Obama positively, compared with just 49% in the U.S. His standing among American investors is even lower on economic matters: only a quarter of U.S. poll respondents rate his economic policies as “good” or “excellent,” compared with more than half in Europe and Asia."

Why don't Americans have the same optimism as the rest of the world? I knew that Bush was unpopular, but I never would have guessed that the world would have been so happy to be rid of him.

Why is the optimism warranted?

Equity investors around the world have done well since Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The gains were most pronounced in Asia, where the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has risen 28%. In the U.S., the S&P 500 Index has risen 19%. The benchmark index for U.S. equities has rallied 41% over the past four months, led by a 95% rise in financial firms. European investors...have fared less well: The Eurostoxx 50 Index has risen 14%.

That sounds like cause for optimism to me.