A long time reader and observer of American politics writes;
Yesterday and this morning I watched the ZDF-TV coverage of Obama’s speech. ZDF, a self-described NBC partner, showed a clip of Brian William’s interview with the messiah. In it, Brian asked Obama to react to John McCain’s comment that he would rather lose a campaign than a war, unlike Obama.
On the whole, the ZDF was comparatively restrained. Their White House correspondent from the White House lawn actually described Obama’s trust-gap that polls show. They had commentary from former-ambassador Kornblum, a Clinton appointee now living in Berlin. CNN’s Amanpour made an appearance but confined her comments to the event, the Obamafest, being like an Oktoberfest. The ZDF “anchors” made various guesses of the crowd size and age, from 20,000-100,000 of 25-year olds.
ZDF were gracious in not mentioning just how substance-free the speech was. They did mention that the purpose of the speech, planned pictures, and images were intended for the American audience. One anchor even mused that Obama had his sights set not only on the US’s but also the world’s presidency.
The Germans in recent history have been notoriously deficient in judging the character and intent of leaders, beginning with their own in the 1930s. Somehow the Camelot myth has overtaken and obliterated Kennedy’s disastrous meeting in Vienna with Khrushchev, and that the building of the Wall could very well have been stopped.
Few Germans still remember how GIs in some parts of West Germany, immediately after the end of the War, “lost” trains filled with food to supply a starving population. A Berliner I met at the B-School and who became a friend, told me that the school I had attended had become a hot-bed for Communism, undeterred by the murders at and on the other side of the Wall.
The messiah seems to have forgotten, or not understood at all, that Truman and Reagan faced long odds and determined opposition, at home and abroad, to organize and maintain the Airlift, to bring down the Wall and Communism—if only for a time.
Thanks, Joe.
(Via JCI) Nick Cohen, Why Bush has been a liberal’s best friend
German has the useful word Tantenverführer: ‘A young man of excessively good manners you suspect of devious motives [literally, an aunt-seducer].’ The sight of 200,000 turning out to hear Obama in Berlin showed the personable young American had wooed and wowed old Europe. If you watched them, the reverence with which liberal sympathisers and journalists treat him might have seemed no mystery. Ignore the imperatives of anti-racism and remember that to a generation raised on The West Wing Obama is the perfect candidate: hip, handsome, commanding, charismatic…
“The Germans in recent history have been notoriously deficient in judging the character and intent of leaders”
That’s an understatement….
When applied to leadership, “charismatic” is a euphemism for “…has the ability to agree with everyone regardless of the leader’s true feelings or intentions…” It is the antithesis of integrity, loyalty and honour
Joe–“The messiah seems to have forgotten, or not understood at all, that Truman and Reagan faced long odds and determined opposition, at home and abroad, to organize and maintain the Airlift, to bring down the Wall and Communism—if only for a time.”
So true. I wasn’t around for Truman but I do remember the ’80’s and Reagan. Europe did not “come together” to defeat Communism as Obama stated in Berlin.
Anyone who was around at the time will remember the massive protests (ex. 300K in Bonn in ’81)against Reagan and NATO when they were placing the Pershing missile system in Europe.
I would guess that most of the people watching the great one speechify in Berlin last week would have been the same ones protesting against Reagan and NATO. So stop this “coming together” revisionist histroy crap!
Carolyn Glick: The Obama-Bush Presidency
Me: Bush and Rice have pretty well adopted Obama foreign policy and gone full-tilt appeasement. McCain’s got a tough slog and will probably not get much traction out of the surge. As Botlon pointed out, a complete moral and intellectual collapse. Sickening.
It’s a sad comment that people everywhere have a poor grasp of history. I’m not really shocked that for a young German, the events of twenty years ago seem like they happened a century ago. For a typical German, WWII must seem like ancient history.
However, let’s give credit to the Germans for doing more to come to grips with the dark side of their history — more so than Japan or some of the minor axis powers (e.g., Hungary), who are still in denial about their roles in WWII.
We Canadians are no better when it comes to knowing one’s history. Strike up a conversation with young Canadians you know, and it will become apparent that Canadians are no different than Germans when it comes to knowing what happened in the world prior to their being born.
60 % of canadians will vote for anyone who says the government will take care of them americans are rapidly adopting this mindset. socialism will make slaves of all who embrace it. obama is a marxist.
“The Germans in recent history have been notoriously deficient in judging the character and intent of leaders, beginning with their own in the 1930s.”
Wait, what? Did that guy just try to create a relationship between 25 year old voters supporting Obama and elections during one of the worst financial crisis’ of a countries history wherein Hitler got elected around 70 years ago? Wow…so let’s not trust American voters since they voted in racist presidents who supported slavery back in the 19th century…?
This has nothing to do with Obama in and of itself, I just find veiled comparisons to NAZIS the most ridiculous and possibly the most contemptuous verbal arguments in existence. Ever heard of a Reductio Ad Hitlerum?
Marc M:
Agree’d. I feel like Canada needs to put more emphasis on history in school, both our own history as a nation and other countries around the world.
The same can be said for American’s and their various overseas wars in their history, and the sheer ignorance regarding the amount of death and destruction wrought by them and other European imperialist nations (I say imperialist in the past tense, however my feelings regarding current U.S. actions are those of an economic hegemon since WW2).
barjebus
“””””(I say imperialist in the past tense, however my feelings regarding current U.S. actions are those of an economic hegemon since WW2).””””””
rite ON there barbaby,
all that foreign aid dem damn muricans dish out are just that, economic hegemony, helping people is a fools game
Few Germans still remember how GIs in some parts of West Germany, immediately after the end of the War, “lost” trains filled with food to supply a starving population.
If I were an English teacher, I would use this as an example of grammatically correct but contextually unclear writing.
When I first read the sentence, I thought, given the rest of the piece’s tone, “Why would the author bring up such an awful act?”. It took six or seven readings before I realized he meant “in order to supply”, or “to supply a starving population instead of US troops”, which clearly is in line with the rest of the piece.
Think I’ll show this one to my daughters, and see how they interpret it.