Germany's "Obamamania"

I'll say it up front: I'm no political analyst. I've even done my best to avoid all teachings of history and/or government in my long and addled college career. So it stands to reason that I've been kind of baffled by the fact that German friends and acquaintances have asked me a number of times over the past year how I feel about Obama and whether I think America will vote for him. (I must add that they originally asked me about Hillary up until she mercifully called it quits.) I'm still baffled, but this article gave me a few thoughts to ponder on the subject.

The article refers to a German opinion poll saying, "72 percent of Germans would vote for him over Republican John McCain in the Nov. 4 election if they could." Which isn't all that strange given that this is a rather liberal country (they support same-sex marriage, they have socialized medicine and they are extremely environmentally conscious.) While the ones I talk to seem to be pleased with their own (female) selection of Chancellor Angela Merkel, they nevertheless tend to recoil from any government leader that might bring on that rock star feeling (understandable, given their history.) So why are they so supportive of Obama?

I'm not sure the article fully explains it, especially since it quotes only one German and one American living in Germany (how's that for a cross-section!?) Even so, I think it does serve to shed a little light on why my neighbors are so interested in our election this year.