Over half of Americans (55%) rate Barack Obama’s historic speech in Berlin yesterday good or excellent, and the Democratic presidential candidate is experiencing a modest bounce over John McCain nationally in the latest Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

In a new Rasmussen Reports national survey, 26% grade the speech, delivered before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200,000, as Excellent. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say it was good. Nearly as many (23%) feel it was only Fair, and 18% rate it as Poor. These results are based upon the 50% of voters who had heard or seen coverage of the speech last night.

Even nearly a third of Republicans (32%) give the speech good or excellent marks, but Democrats are far more enthusiastic, with 75% feeling that way. However, 39% of Republicans rate the speech Poor versus only five percent (5%) of Democrats. Forty-seven percent (47%) of unaffiliated voters say the speech was good or excellent, while 16% characterize it as Poor.

Obama, who is noted for his speaking skills, received similar marks in early March when he gave a highly-publicized speech about race relations in America. The speech was prompted by news reports about controversial remarks made by his minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

While Obama called for greater cooperation between the United States and Europe in his Berlin speech, 46% believe it will be better for the world if Europe becomes more like America. Twenty-nine percent (29%) think the world will benefit if the U.S. becomes more like Europe.

Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans believe the U.S. should be the model for Europe, as opposed to only 29% of Democrats. Forty-six percent (46%) of unaffiliateds agree.

Fifty percent (50%) also feel that Obama would do a better job building cooperation with Europe, as opposed to 35% who favor McCain in that role.
While voters continue to trust Democrats more on most issues, Republicans hold the lead in the area of national security.

Exactly half (50%) acknowledge having read, seen or heard news about the Berlin speech, while 67% have followed at least somewhat news reports of Obama’s overseas trip that began nearly a week ago and has included stops in Afghanistan and Iraq. He now moves on to Paris and London before coming home. The Berlin speech is the only major address Obama planned to deliver on the trip.

The Obama campaign set up the high-profile trip to give the relatively inexperienced candidate some overseas exposure and to enhance his foreign policy credentials. But in a survey earlier this week Rasmussen Reports found that 63% of Americans do not believe the visits to Iraq and Afghanistan make Obama more qualified to be President.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday morning shows a bounce for Obama. He now leads his GOP opponent 46% to 41%. This is the first time the Democrat has enjoyed a five-point advantage since July 8.

McCain has been struggling this week to get media attention with all the focus on Obama’s trip. Three major television anchors have gone overseas to interview the Democratic candidate, and the trip has dominated the news for several days now. A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that 49% of Americans now believe the media is trying to help Obama win with its coverage.

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