Young Americans and foreigners disillusioned with Obama: imagine that!

In the current Economist, "Lexington" has a few words to say about what he calls the abolition of privacy in the USA. "Cyber-spying", the columnist writes "hardly dominates national debate" in America. He (or she) says the National Security Agency's snooping into every corner of our personal lives -- Americans and foreigners, VIPs and ordinary folks, rich and poor, anyone and everyone -- seems not to concern Americans, perhaps because they've become resigned to it.

But it should! "Lexington" continues:

Young Americans and foreigners...have made parallel journeys towards disappointment.... Young Americans and foreigners of all ages, notably in Europe, fell heavily for Mr Obama, thinking him a break with politics as usual. Both groups have had high hopes dashed....

Start with Mr Obama's foreign fans. There was always a dose of naivety to their zeal, not to mention clunking racial tokenism. Many Europeans mistakenly assumed that because Mr Obama opposed the policies of George W. Bush and so did they, he would be in some sense their president too. Now they have learned their lesson: their idol is, first and foremost, America's leader.

Mr Obama also faces domestic fallout. His approval ratings among young Americans fell markedly in 2013, making a once-loyal age cohort look more like other adult Americans.... Mr O bama needs the young to believe in government solutions.... Instead, the NSA saga has given America's most tech-savvy generation fresh reason for cynicism.

At home and abroad, Mr Obama can ill-afford this latest loss of faith.

Thanks to Agent 34 for sending the cartoon comment.