Today I was reading The Economist's pick for president. They endorsed Obama, and in their explanation they noted that Obama's reputation at home and abroad would be beneficial. They even mentioned that the fact that his middle name of Hussein would help relations with the Middle East. 

At one point, I would have dismissed these reasonings as completely irrelevant. I would have said that the fact that the French and the Germans like Obama should not influence Americans' decisions at home. However, now, I think this does have relevance. A president has to deal with other countries, and what that president's name means to foreign countries is important. Now, I do not think this, by any means, should be a crucial factor for anyone's decision-making. The most important remains what a person believes and what they have and will do. But I do think it is interesting how something that I thought was so irrelevant, like someone's reputation, has become something that I now believe to be relevant.