One iron rule of political campaigns dictates, "As the candidate, you should always do those things — to your own campaign's advantage — which your opponent is unable to do."

For example, if your own income tax returns are reasonably simple and straightforward with no suspicious tax loopholes, and you have grounds to believe that your opponent's returns are overly complicated, confusing and potentially a problem for him to publicly explain, then by all means make your own returns public and challenge — based on "the public's right to know" — your opponent to do the same immediately.

Likewise, if your opponent — throughout his public career — has depended upon being been backed politically and financially by an identifiable organized group, such as a labor union, and that group's leadership has recently been indicted for illegal activities, then announce immediately that you will neither seek nor accept the endorsement of any organization under a legal cloud and challenge your opponent to follow your ethical lead.

The old "Do What Your Opponent Cannot Do" rule comes to mind after reading the Pew Global Attitude Project's 2008 survey of 24,717 people in 24 countries, completed in April. Even with some modest up-ticks in favorability this year, favorable feelings toward the United States have still dropped like a rock since George W. Bush entered the White House, plummeting some 47 percent in Germany, 30 percent in Great Britain, 20 percent in France and 17 percent in Spain.

When asked, "How much confidence do you have in President George W. Bush to do the right thing regarding world affairs — a lot of confidence, some confidence, not too much confidence or no confidence at all?" 3 percent or fewer of the people in Britain, France, Spain, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Argentina and Brazil (not including zero in Turkey) expressed a "lot of confidence" in Bush.

Still, there are signs of foreign attitudes toward the United States improving, according to Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center. This "reflects an anticipation of change in the White House."

Why the lift? "People around the world," finds Andy Kohut, "think the next president will have a positive change on U.S. foreign policy." There is keen interest in the U.S. presidential election overseas, most especially in Japan, where a higher percentage of citizens (83 percent) are paying close attention to the U.S. election than are in America (80 percent).

The story here is Democrat Barack Obama, who according to Kohut "has made quite a splash across the seas" and "has strong international appeal just about everywhere." When asked how much confidence they had in Obama to "do the right thing regarding world affairs," the French (84 percent confidence in Obama), Tanzanians (84 percent), Germans (82 percent), Australians (80 percent), Japanese (77 percent), British (74 percent) and Spanish (72 percent) are incredibly bullish on the young Illinois Democrat. Republican John McCain gets higher ratings than George W. Bush but trails Obama almost everywhere and by nearly 50 percent in both France and Germany.

Now back to the Iron Rule. McCain put Obama on the political defensive last week over Obama's failure to visit Iraq during the last two years. Almost certainly, under some pressure, Obama will make a trip to Iraq to visit — and to be seen visiting — with American troops and brass.

But after his meetings in Iraq, Obama could quite legitimately "Do What His Opponent Cannot Do," by meeting foreign leaders and holding public events in Berlin, Madrid, Rome, London, Paris and maybe even Tokyo and Melbourne, and be guaranteed the kind of huge, enthusiastic and pro-American crowds that would dominate media coverage both here and abroad.

Imagine the compelling sight — to American voters — of French, Germans, Spanish and Japanese holding high in their hands American flags to welcome the Democratic presidential nominee who had been an early opponent of George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.

Why does this matter? "It is important for America," says Kohut, "to be able to persuade other nations to join, to follow the U.S. — rather than for the U.S. to 'muscle' them."

Sure, some xenophobes would object to Obama's "foreign primary," arguing that he cares more about Rome, Italy, than Rome, Ga. But tell me, wouldn't it be grand to have an American leader being cheered — like John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were — in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate?

To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 MARK SHIELDS