OMAN REACTS TO THE U.S. ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000772

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, INR/R/MR, NEA/SA/EX/PMO
LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER
PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: OMAN REACTS TO THE U.S. ELECTIONS


1. SUMMARY: As the November 4 presidential election approached, on
Election Day, and in the immediate wake of the election results
being announced, Omanis at all levels have been remarkably focused
on events as they unfolded. In the media, online, and in person at
a range of recent events, we have seen a level of engagement that
was to some extent unexpected in its intensity and surprising in its
frankness. From the cheer that erupted at the Embassy's
results-watching breakfast to the headlines since, Omanis have shown
themselves firmly - if not always without some reservations - in the
Obama camp. END SUMMMARY.

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PRINT: OBAMA "NOTHING NEW"... BUT "SAVES THE WORLD"
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2. Oman's seven daily newspapers (three English, four Arabic; one
each in Arabic and English state-owned, the rest private) drew
heavily on wire service and other international reporting during the
campaign, with coverage increasing in the wake of August's party
conventions. Two papers, the "Times of Oman" (English) and
"Al-Shabiba" (Arabic),carried content through a special arrangement
with The New York Times News Service, with extensive coverage from
early in 2008, which was especially useful in providing high-quality
material in Arabic. Editorial content in all papers, until election
week, was minimal, with the exception of reaction to Barack Obama's
July statements regarding the status of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital, which prompted private Arabic paper "Al-Watan" (circulation
42,000),for example, to decry the candidate's ties to "special
interests" and parroting of the Israeli party line.


3. As Election Day approached, Oman's pundits started weighing in.
On October 29, state daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) questioned
the extent of candidates' differences:

"In a few days, Americans will choose their next President, even as
they suffer real and psychological pressure resulting from the
severe economic crisis... If there are differences between the two,
there are [from the Arabic perspective] similarities in their
positions."

U.S. Election Day was quiet in the Sultante's press, although "Oman"
reflected a certain continuing local doubt that much would change,
drawing on an October 28 "Los Angeles Times" column by Jonah
Goldberg ("Obama's not 'New'").


4. In the wake of the elections, however, the tone turned
adulatory, although few outlets went as far as the jointly owned
"Times of Oman" and "Al-Shabiba", which headlined editorials (in
both languages) on November 9, "Obama has saved the US and the
world!" Private Arabic daily "Al-Zaman"'s "Obama: The Dream of the
World for Change" came close.

On November 7, "Al-Watan" carried a "Letter to the New American
President" that said:

"Your victory was not a coincidence; it reflects the change that you
called for in the campaign. I, like millions of people, hope that
the change you are calling for concentrates not only on the people
of America, but looks to the suffering of other people around the
world... not merely a slogan, but a real call to return peace to the
world after eight years of turmoil."

On November 9, "Al Watan" amplified this theme:

"The new president has made the dream of Martin Luther King come
true. At the same time, the white elite transcended ethnic and
religious affiliations and accepted a candidate from the African
minority. This can only take place in a country of institutions and
a political system based on equal opportunity and individual
character... Will the new president be able to reform American
policy and correct the serious errors committed by the current
administration? Will he be able to realize the Palestinian dream in
announcing their independent state with its full and fundamental
rights? The coming days will tell."


5. Euphoria is tempered, however, as new concerns emerge. On
November 9, for example, "Al-Shabiba" called Obama's nominee for
chief of staff "Israel's man in the White House," noting the
president-elect's ties to supporters of Israel such as Richard
Holbrooke.

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ONLINE: HOPE AND CAUTION
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6. Oman's leading online forum, Al-Sablah (www.omania2.net) posted

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a survey in advance of the elections, with 80 percent of respondents
saying they were following the campaign "on a daily basis."
Commenters on the Obama side especially praised the candidate's
willingness to hold talks with the Iranian leadership and the
prospect that his election would reduce the U.S. presence in Iraq;
McCain supporters, by contrast, said that a principal cause of their
interest in his campaign was his stated support for continuing U.S.
guarantees of security in Iraq and regionally. As in print, some
posters doubted that much would change after the election no matter
the result, although others expressed admiration for the democratic
process itself ("I only can applaud and admire the United States for
its principles in giving the opportunity to its citizens regardless
of their color or former nationality," perhaps a veiled comment on
Oman's own relatively minor issues of integrating citizens of
non-Arab origin). Other fora explored similar themes, with the
(generally less political, although also less guarded) English Sabla
(www.englisabla.com/forum) carrying threads that ranged from "Evil
Republicans Defeated" (a poll with which 60 percent of respondents
agreed) to more measured comments, several of which expressed
admiration for John McCain's record, experience, and graceful
concession speech.


7. Commenters on both Arabic and English fora cautioned those with
too-high expectations, pointing out that the democratic system that
enabled the election of a new president also limits his power to
enact immediate, sweeping changes. A widely circulated
(photoshopped) image of Obama in Omani traditional dress generated
both amusement and some genuine identification among Omanis, many of
whom have longstanding ties to East Africa through the Sultanate's
former presence in Zanzibar and the surrounding area. Post election
comments to Emboffs have reflected the same need for the
president-elect and USG to tamp expectations.

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IN PERSON: "YOU HAVE OVERCOME"
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8. In a series of events leading up to the elections, the
Ambassador and Emboffs interacted with Omanis at all levels, at
events ranging from a series of talks at local colleges and
universities to the Embassy's results-watching open house, attended
by some 400 guests. The majority expressed a strong preference for
an Obama victory, most commonly citing the break that it would mark
with current U.S. policy as the major reason for their support.


9. Student audiences were consistently highly interested in the
process itself, with averages of more than half of each audience
(ranging from 60 to 300 students) saying they were following events
closely. The depth and perceptiveness of questions asked by
students at each of the Ambassador's appearance were striking, as
was the seriousness with which Omani students (most of whom have
little or no direct experience with democratic processes) addressed
the subject.


10. On Election Night itself, the Ambassador hosted a reception for
participants in four previous discussion sessions, held over the
past year, at which regional events had been debated in the context
of the coming election. Whatever the results of the U.S. voting, it
was clear that this heterogeneous group of Omani students,
businesspeople, academics, and civil society leaders were strongly
in favor of the change promised by a Democratic administration. In
helping themselves to the campaign buttons on offer, for example, no
guest chose to wear a McCain button except in tandem with an Obama
one, with the majority preferring an Obama badge on its own.


11. By the morning after, when hundreds of Omani and expatriate
guests gathered at the Embassy to watch the results come in, that
feeling had solidified into virtual unanimity. Cheers marked the
announcement, at 8:00 a.m. local time, that Obama was forecast to
prevail. Guests congratulated Emboffs on the outcome, saying that
it was a clear sign to the world that Americans have overcome racism
(one guest recalling the civil rights anthem, saying "you have
overcome, not someday, but today") as well as a promise of a "less
unilateral" American foreign policy. Those present were struck both
by the grace and sincerity of the Republican concession speech and
by the eloquence of the president-elect's remarks; when the latter
began, the Ambassador has just begun to meet with a group of thirty
Omani secondary-school students, who sat silent and totally engaged
as Obama addressed the crowd in Chicago.


12. The election results genuinely moved many Omanis, many of whom
felt compelled to share their views with embassy officers. One
Omani emotionally explained how the election proved to her the
strength of the American democratic system and demonstrated better
than anything its enduring value. Another commented that only a
system as flexible as ours could produce such change in government.

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Reflecting on the election's significance closer to home, one Omani
gentleman said, "If America can break with its racist past to elect
a Black President, then we in the Middle East should be able to
overcome our differences to bring peace to our region."

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TRANSITION OPPORTUNITIES
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13. COMMENT: The good feeling engendered by last week's election,
along with the developing transition process itself, provides a
genuine opening for new dialogue and engagement with Omani
audiences. Post will use the chance the changing administration
opens up to deepen engagement with local audiences on governance and
related issues, using the strong local interest in the new figures
on the scene in Washington as a springboard for deeper discussion of
and even action on issues that Omanis are only starting to consider
in their own context. END COMMENT.

GRAPPO