Great analysis. Especially considering the amount of time you had to write it.

And really, this brings us right back to his candidacy. In a sense, the message of his very presence in Berlin is this: If slavery is the ultimate national sin, then the fact that he's running for president, and very well may win, and is promising the rest of the world a better America if he does win -- all of this would achieve some sort of movement in the direction of that perfection that stubbornly eludes us.

Greg: Beautiful prose here....you expressed what this election is all about: a dream,a hope and a will for a better future! nicely done, sir!

You could almost hear the crickets in the crowd as he talked about fighting terrorism. Which is a good thing, because last I checked, Germans won't be voting on Nov. 4th.

CNN's correspondent had an orgasm

Not unlike the Daily Show correspondents reporting from Baghdad

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=177060

Oh come on, Bush gives speaches like this everyday!

I love me some snark!

Text of McCain's speach at Schmidt's resteraunt:

My friends, surge, surge, surge, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran, surge, that's not change we can beleive in, surge, whoops, Cindy! I surgeded my pants again, bring me another depends, surge, surge, Obama eats babies and hates America, surge, surge, my friends Surge...

You get the idea.

That's exactly what it should have been all along - that was what was so damned heartbreaking about Bush's "Them or Us" stance after 9-11. We had the goodwill of the entire goddamn planet and Bush had broken it in a million pieces by the 3d day.

Obama's trying to put it back together.

If slavery is the ultimate national sin, then the fact that he's running for president, and very well may win, and is promising the rest of the world a better America if he does win -- well, then all of this would achieve some sort of movement in the direction of that perfection that stubbornly continues to elude us.

C'mere Greggy, I have something for you. {{{{{MWAAH!}}}}}

that is beautiful.

damn tags - the first was the quote from Greg's lovely analysis - it was supposed to be in blockquotes.

for the want of an edit function...

Just a heads up on a link you'll need to have handy over the next two to three days - http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/better+the+devil+you+know.html

If Obama becomes president, that means anyone can. If some old white guy becomes president, that's nothing new. Martin Luther King, Jr. persuaded Nichelle Nichols not to quit Star Trek because she was a role model for women and black children. He said, "Once that door is opened by someone, no one else can close it again."

Let's open that door. Let's elect Obama president!

Right on time, comments that Greg's post is not over the top complimentary of everything Obama said today, and therefore, incredulous commenting on "HOW COULD HE!"

CNN's Candy Crowley's impression of Obama's speech:

"Well, nothing new said here"

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell:

"Lofty rhetoric"

C'mon ladies!

By focusing on slavery rather than racist apartheid, you excuse way too many Americans. Racism is the ultimate national sin.

Is it to much to ask that Obama do his job as Chair of the Subcommittee on European Affairs (including NATO) — He has held no hearings and made no trips to Europe during his tenure as chair because, as he admitted in a primary debate, he’s been too busy running for president.
Now he has time to go over and give his empty suit campaign speach offering no specifics but promises the world. Give me a break. He needs to resign his Chair position immediatly.

So, who's working to elect this guy?

If you're doing nothing but being a spectator, get to your local Obama campaign office and become a participator. Register voters. Make sure they know where their polling places are. Make sure they know the importance of this election.

This is what I've been saying!! How could we let our country down like that but not electing Obama?? Our image needs the kind of radical facelift that only he can provide. I was in Paris last month for a week and I wore my Obama t-shirt every day as I walked the streets; I felt like a goodwill ambassador with all the smiles and unsolicited nods of approval I got.

And any journalist should be praying for an Obama victory for no other reason than just the excitement of it!! How excruciatingly boring would four years of a McCain presidency be?

McCain said after Obama's speech today that he'd like to go to Germany and give a speech "on a subject of interest to Germans" too. From the look of things, he wouldn't draw quite the same crowd Obama did:

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1251860,00.jpg
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1251312,00.jpg

And then there's this:

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1251717,00.jpg

Aaaargh -- you can not wage a war on a concept...

This is all VERY Impressive -- I mean the speech and adulation!

While I may agree with some of the comments referring to Andrea Mitchell and Candy Crowley, I would like to politely request that posters stop referring to looks and/or size when referring to female reporters/correspondents/whatevers......k?

I am surprised we did not get this report from Andrea Mitchell:

Andrea: Brian, German Tribal leaders we interviewed said they were unaware of the problems with translations of Obama's remarks by Der Spiegel. However, they said if Americans told us in 1945, "How about fifty years, how about a hundred?" we Germans would have said "fine, as long as you send the Green Bay Packers or Elvis."

"terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan,"

I hope this is just empty campaign rhetoric and not a statement of belief. The Afghan war has today become a classic war against a foreign occupation. The freedom fighters are mostly Pashtun tribes people, but some of the other Afghan peoples are beginning to take up arms. Calling them names does not change the underlying reality. And ignoring the underlying reality will just lead to another military defeat.

Great analysis Greg. Obama has made me proud today

Missed great Moments in MSM history:

ABC DRONE #1: How does McCain counteract these great Obama visuals?

MSNBC DRONE #2: Well, Makeupstoomuch, I think
McCain should stand atop a Chevron Rig in the middle of the Gulf, bare his chest in 100 mile an hour hurricance winds and shout tghe name of the Green Bay Packers Offensive line."

CNN DRIBBLEHEAD # 3: Right Trimmed VanDyke, but Bobby Jindal was unable to complete his journey from Vishnu to the Vatican and exorcised himself from the Veep Stakes, so Chris Matthews wouldn't cover it.

DRONE #1: So what's McCain to do?

DRONE #2: Call Obama a traitor while surging down a supermarket cheese aisle?

DRIBBLEHEAD # 3: He could join the search for that toddler's body down in Florida while blaming Obama for the high price of gas.

Brilliant speech - brilliant analysis - thank you.

McCain is a walking train-wreck. Obama has a long-term strategy. We aren't seeing the full fruits yet, but I am certain that his campaign will reach a powerful crescendo the closer we get to November. All he's doing right not is shoring up his credentials and playing his own game, rather than responding to wave after wave after Republican attack.

After Kerry, we're all too jittery. Have no fear.

As was the war on poverty.

Heh. So much to love. First, the "in your grille, beyotch!" self-assuredness of the entire trip. McCain wants to play a game of "I dare ya to go to Iraq?" Fine. We'll go to Iraq, to Afghanistan, to Jordan and Israel too...and on the way home, we'll stop off in Berlin to pop the top on the final can in our Whoop-Ass sixpack. Don't worry; we have several cases of it lying around. Then, the fact that he apparently "stuck the landing" everywhere he went. Not only no gaffes, but superlative reviews as well.

As for Crowley and Mitchell, if Candy would just give Andrea half her body weight, they'd both be normal sized healthy women. Apologies to those concerned with "lookism" directed at women. I just couldn't help myself.

Lastly, on the topic of Crowley and Mitchell, they have no idea about how to cover a campaign that's 1)not about Vietnam and 2)where nothing will stick to the Democrat, because he steps up and points out that it's a brown color and it stinks, so obviously it's shit. They have no experience in their entire careers of a Democrat like that. And their imaginations are too stunted to conceive of one. So they continue doing the only thing they know how to do - disparage the Democrat, even when they must know what they are saying is so at odds with the facts they've just reported that most people watching will conclude that they are vapid morons. But so what? As they must know better than anyone, they weren't hired because they're smart - they were hired because they are reliable propagandists who have no ethics, integrity, or shame.

Put me down as a contrary thinker but as an Obama supporter I DO NOT WANT to see his poll numbers get too far ahead at this point in the game. One of the worst things that can happen in politics is peaking too soon. For Obama to pull too far ahead in the polls may breed overconfidence, sloppiness, laziness in the campaign, slowdown in contributions, cockiness in the candidate (some of that showing already), but worst of all, will mobilize the Republicans.

No, it is best for Obama to be marginally ahead, maybe even trailing for the next few months, and like a champion racer, pull ahead rounding the last lap and to finish two lengths ahead.

Not being a beauty myself, I proably have no right to this, but: Crowley's combination of ugly face, ugly soul, ugly mind and ugly voice, has always revolted me. I think the soul is the most revolting part.

Obama's speech is similar to taking a choice cut of meat(beef, pork, chicken, you name it) putting inside a crock-pot will all the necessary ingredients, then letting it slowly cook. Eventually the flavor of his intent will come out and everyone will be demanding their slice.