It was a long and arduous trip from southern Oman to Amman, Jordan. I'm here to follow presumptive democratic nominee Barack Obama's visit to the Kingdom.

Obama touched down in Iraq a few hours ago as part of a trip many say is designed to bolster his foreign policy credentials.

I just came back from the streets of Amman, where I asked ordinary Jordanians what they think of the Illinois senator.

The most common answer was: "Who is Obama?"

It seems that for the Arab street, Obama is either an unknown commodity or a presidential candidate whose policy proposals remain a mystery.

Among those who knew Obama, there was a pretty even split between those who said they preferred him over republican rival John McCain.

But for the vast majority of Arabs, there is not the kind of "Obamamania" I observed in European countries like France: in a recent Brookings Institution polls conducted by the University of Maryland and Zogby International, 32% of respondents in the Middle East said U.S. foreign policy will be the same no matter who is elected.

In a recent Pew poll, most Arab country respondents said U.S. foreign policy will not change for the better when a new American president takes office.

How do you say "skeptical" in Arabic?

I will be filing a story on the Arab world's reaction to the Obama visit for tomorrow. The democratic presidential hopeful is expected to hold a news conference in the Jordanian capital and meet with Jordanian King Abdallah. A photo op with a leader firmly allied to the United States will be beamed across the world and into American homes.

What impact will this have on Barack Obama's campaign? Will the Middle East be watching?