Credits: 

Illustration: Patrick McQuade

He took out Osama bin Laden.

Surprisingly, for a politician who campaigned on domestic issues, Obama’s presidency has been more successful outside the United States than at home. As commander-in-chief, he’s bringing home troops from Iraq after eight years of war, and his special forces killed Osama bin Laden, Public Enemy No. 1 of the American people. Moammar Gadhafi is now dead, too. Americans have noticed: A November NBC poll gave Obama a 52 percent approval rating on his handling of foreign policy.

“Libya to me is an example of President Obama seeing the need for military intervention in a country and saying that the United States will help, but we will not lead,” says Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin. “We will be supportive and we’ll turn to our NATO allies. It was a cooperative effort with European nations and the Arab League, which is significant.”

Lampe has worked on political campaigns in Mali, Kosovo, Belgium, England and Mexico in the last two years. Everywhere he goes, he finds the United States held in higher regard than it was during George W. Bush’s administration.

“As I travel around the world, there’s a much more positive assessment of the U.S.,” Lampe says. “We elect the leader of the free world. We want to be respected.”