Iraqis' perceptions of Obama often parallel their own political affiliations and their views on the presence of U.S. troops in the country.
Nassar Rubaie, a member of parliament in the bloc of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, had an especially cynical analysis of the U.S. presidential campaign, characterizing any outcome as nothing more than "tactical change."
"The nature of the U.S. elections will not affect the political situation in Iraq," Rubaie said. "On the other hand, the situation in Iraq has a great effect on the U.S. elections. The candidates are concentrating on the situation in Iraq . . . to win the elections."
A lawmaker from the Kurdish Alliance, Ali Hussein Balo, had the opposite view.
"As Kurds we think that Iraq has been liberated by the Republicans and Bush, so we prefer to continue the same policy to end the problems in Iraq," Balo said
However, ambivalence best describes the feelings of many Iraqis, both in and out of government, about the U.S. military presence.
"I agree that the Iraqi government and its security forces have made lots of progress during the last several months," said Ahmed Adnan, 29, sitting behind the desk of a construction contractor in the Jadriya neighborhood.
"But this tends to be overstated by the media," Adnan said. "I still think that the situation could suddenly revert because Iraq still needs a long time to heal."
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Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.
