Obama wows Europeans as Bush era is consigned to history

By Matt Spetalnick and Caren Bohan

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - From cheering fans lining the streets to an adoring crowd packed into a sports arena, Obama-mania was in full swing in Europe on Friday.

The excitement generated by U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to both sides of the French-German border was a sharp contrast to the angry protests that often greeted his predecessor George W. Bush on trips to the continent.

"I wanted to tell you that your name in Hungarian means 'peach'," a girl from Heidelberg, Germany, gushed to Obama, at a townhall meeting.

The style and substance of Obama's tour were also different to Bush, who was unpopular among Europeans because of the Iraq war and a list of contentious policies.

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