Report: Bush Officials Not Happy About Possible Obama Speech At Brandenburg Gate
There's been an interesting twist in the ongoing behind-the-scenes discussions over whether Barack Obama will deliver a speech on July 24th at Berlin's historically-charged Brandenburg Gate.
A new report in the German press says that Bush administration officials are unhappy with the idea and privately said as much to representatives of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The whole thing started when Der Spiegel reported the other day that Obama would be visiting Berlin on July 24th, stirring speculation that he wanted to speak before the Gate, a place that's associated with JFK and Ronald Reagan, symbolizes the end of the Cold War, and would give Obama's speech a great deal of historical resonance.
The Obama campaign has been tight-lipped about his plans, saying that he has "considered several sites for a possible speech." Meanwhile, Merkel has reacted with coolness to the idea.
Now Der Spiegel has added a new twist to the tale.
From the mag...
The respected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported this week that a member of the Bush delegation approached Merkel's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, at the G-8 summit in Japan to discuss misgivings about Obama's planned speech. The government is also acting out of respect for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who has long enjoyed strong ties to Germany and good personal relationships with a number of high-level government officials in Berlin.
The report is unconfirmed, and the paper cited here doesn't have an English translation, but Der Spiegel describes it as "respected." If Bush officials are privately trying to nix a speech that would give Obama a major boost it's an interesting development and raises more questions, such as whether the administration is possibly letting efforts to help McCain intrude on back-channel diplomacy in other areas.















Hmm, might work to our advantage. If the Bush Administration is against the speech, this might give Merkel and the Germans a chance to stick it to him.
Maybe.
I cannot help but think that such a report is good news for Obama's prospects speaking at the Brandeburg Gate. Go get 'em!
July 10, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does Merkel want a chance to stick it to Bush? I was under the impression that Merkel and Bush were fairly chummy.
July 10, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does Merkel want a chance to stick it to Bush? I was under the impression that Merkel and Bush were fairly chummy.
* insert back-rub joke here *
July 10, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd just like to say, I CALLED IT! I CALLED IT!!
(Cue music and red, white and blue balloon drop a la Stephen Colbert)
My comment from this morning's Election Central comments thread:
The Bush Admin. or ambassador probably asked her to do it as a favor. The last thing they want is a big show of European support for Obama during the election campaign, validating the idea that he will bring the world back together. And I say European because he would undoubtedly draw people from all across Europe to his rally.
Posted by ohiomeister
July 10, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/election_central_morning_round_116.php#comment-2957464
July 10, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe, maybe not. I know what her electorate thinks of him, though. We'll see. I'm sure the decision is going to come down to, as usual, politics. I'm also sure Merkel is one to lick her thumb and stick it in the air.
July 10, 2008 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not her call at any rate. It comes down to the mayor of Berlin, who was quite enthusiastic about the idea.
July 10, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Precisely
The rest of the world moaned when we elected and re-elected LeChimp. Yet, they still went ahead and voted in Pro-Corporate, Rightwing, Authoritarian governments in GB, France, Canada, and Australia (just to name basically EVERYBODY that counts in the "western" and/or "free" world)
What the hell gives? They all watched a Corporatocracy evolve (with disgust) here in the
US and still went ahead and got shiny new govts. that look remarkably like ours. Seems proof-positive to me that the Corporatists have struck on a really good worldwide scheme for rigging elections and dictating world-view thru media that just bamboozles the populace. Or, the peoples around the world just YEARN and vote for Corporatocracy even while they squeal against it.
Merkel is no big liker of LeChimp, but she is Corporatist.
July 10, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope that you simply forgot Italy in that list. I would hate to think that you mean to say that Australia "counts" but Italy does not.
July 10, 2008 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can't really compare those gov'ts to our gov't since the baseline is so different. They'd most likely be considered pretty liberal here.
July 10, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly.
I remember seeing a news piece a few years ago about an unnamed political party's position on the issues.
I saw it and thought it looked pretty good and progressive.
Turns out it was the Tories in GB.
July 10, 2008 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
If European right wing politicians were in America they would, in fact, be right wingers. The policies they pursue are more mild, but that's not because they're temperamentally more liberal than American conservatives, just that they're operating from a baseline where there's a much bigger welfare state.
July 10, 2008 7:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes. In Canada, for instance...
Abortion completely unregulated. The Conservative Party has officially dropped it as an election issue.
Capital punishment banned for thirty years. No popular pressure whatsoever for restoration, and restoration is not part of the Conservative Party platform.
The principle of single-payer health insurance sacrosanct. Very much a third rail for anyone who wants to f'with it.
Last but not least, the Conservative Party in Canada has a minority government and has found it almost impossible to get more than 35% support in polls. Since all the other political parties in Canada are to the left of the Conservatives, that means that 65% of the population does not approve of the government's performance.
July 11, 2008 7:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
An oversight. Didn't they get rid of an authoritarian proto-fascist media government.....only to have it return again 4 years later?
July 10, 2008 5:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed they did. If anyone awards the "craftiest con man in all history" prize, I am sure that Silvio Berlusconi's candidacy is very much in the hunt.
July 10, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
And Spain, don't forget Spain. They have a socialist government.
July 10, 2008 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's not forget that Merkel herself is CDU, which maybe not be as right wing as our present day neocon controlled Republicans, is right of center.
Would not want to discount Germany either.
I think that Missouri (aside from France) is thinking about the anglophone group.
July 10, 2008 6:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
do they use voting machines?
July 11, 2008 1:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd just like to say, I CALLED IT! I CALLED IT!!
(Cue music and red, white and blue balloon drop a la Stephen Colbert)
My comment from this morning's Election Central comments thread:
The Bush Admin. or ambassador probably asked her to do it as a favor. The last thing they want is a big show of European support for Obama during the election campaign, validating the idea that he will bring the world back together. And I say European because he would undoubtedly draw people from all across Europe to his rally.
Posted by ohiomeister
July 10, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/election_central_morning_round_116.php#comment-2957464
July 10, 2008 5:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
They are chummy. She indicated she is not too happy about it either. Frankly, who gives a damn what Bush is happy about? He is so over.
July 10, 2008 8:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Independents in the center, unlike the idiots on the right, wants America improve relations with the outside world.
It's a great oppurtunity for Obama, as long as it's well orchestrated.
July 10, 2008 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd say it was an outrageous development, actually. The Bush Administration doesn't want Obama speaking at a particular location? I don't think the Bush Administration should be controlling where Obama speaks.
I really hope that Merkel gives a figurative F.U. to the Bush Administration and welcomes Obama to the Brandenburg Gate.
July 10, 2008 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
agreed, not really defensible
July 10, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Looks like that shoulder grope is
finally paying dividends for W.
July 10, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama: "Ich bin ein Berliner."
July 10, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I am a jelly doughnut!"
July 10, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's slang. He's a fucking donut.
July 10, 2008 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ja, Wir kรถnnen.
July 10, 2008 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
It might be, liam - German media is reporting that Obama is considering the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin as an alternative site for the speech...
It ain't the Gate, I'll admit. But JFK actually spoke in front of the Schoeneberg town hall, but we still remember that speech don't we?
July 10, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
"member of the Bush delegation approached Merkel's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, at the G-8 summit in Japan to discuss misgivings about Obama's planned speech."
Wouldn't the Bush Monarchy be guilty of the Hatch Act, by butting into politics while on the clock?
July 10, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
They don't care if they break the law.
July 10, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
When has not violating the law been a concern for the Bush 43 White House before?
They don't care, and as much as they like to try to wrap themselves in the flag, they're using the Constitution to wipe their rears.
July 10, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
FYI, the FAZ is hella respected.
July 10, 2008 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Too damn right about the FAZ.
Funny thing: the US Embassy just opened its historic location in Pariser Platz, right by the Gate -- Daddy Bush did the ceremonials on July 4th -- and Berlin's city authorities spent a long time objecting to the 'security' measures that Uncle Sam demanded.
(You can see how close it is to the Gate on this Wikipedia page.)
If Obama wants to have an event in the shadow of the US Embassy, and the Berlin mayor agrees, is the ambassador going to nix it?
July 10, 2008 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
WHy should anybody give one whit what the Administration thinks about this?
July 10, 2008 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't this a Hatch Act violation?
July 10, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I just lifted this off of DailyKos ---
July 10, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Forgot to add...Bush did this at the G8
July 10, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reported in the UK Daily Telegraph.
That's right up there with, "Nope, no weapons of mass destruction under here..."
There is no low to which this guy won't stoop.
July 10, 2008 4:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did he end by farting loudly?
It's about all he hasn't done.
July 11, 2008 7:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Minor typo: "several sites", not "several sights".
July 10, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Some translations from the original article on faz.net:
Aides of Sen. Obama informed the German Ambassador in Washington D.C. weeks ago about the visit. Ambassador Scharioth encouraged the trip and meetings with Merkel and state secretary Steinmeier at the Office of the Federal Chancellor.
The Obama campaign also asked about other locations the Senator cold visit while in Berlin.
Ambassador Sharioth recommended Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate. Nothing unusual and he didn't make any warnings about the appearance either. And why should he? Many people make appearances and speeches at the Gate. The Dalai Lama spoke there recently.
NOW sources say that the foreign policy aides of Chancellor Merkel Christoph Heugen got balked at by a Bush aide about the plans. It seems to be a matter of fairness to them. If Obama speaks, McCain should be able to speak too.
A member of Obama transatlantic cooperation team and who didn't want to be named said: " The Brandburg Gate is a historic location, not an exclusive" He added that not allowing Obama to speak would be like denying foreign politicans to deny them speaking at the National Mall "just because MLK gave his big speak there in 1963".
The German Federal Foreign Office sees it similar. They call for more proudness and thankfullness that an American politican visits the Gate as "it is a symbol of freedom, which we owe to the Amercians"
Comments from the opposition parties
FDP: the whole thing is absurd and burocratic nonsense
Green party: If the Dalai lama can, Obama can too.
July 10, 2008 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can you imagine John McCain giving a major speech at the Brandenberg Gate after Obama?
What is it with Republicans and shitty grins?
July 10, 2008 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, they already have a green screen. Can't they just edit it in?
July 10, 2008 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Angela just loves Georgie's massages. She can't help herself, she's putty in his hands.
July 10, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not slang for jelly donut in Berlin!
July 10, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I, unfortunately, grew into my political conscience during the Bush years. I just want to know - is this kind of politicking typical of a sitting President?
I mean, I just can't see Bill Clinton pulling this kind of nonsense. The recent actions by the Bush administration seem to be McCain campaign play calls.
I can only think of one word to describe this: UNPRESIDENTIAL.
July 10, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
This one smells like Cheney to me.
July 10, 2008 6:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
And you'd be right.
No president, not even Nixon, has had the audacity and disregard for the traditional restraints of the office that this creepy little freak has.
July 10, 2008 10:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently the Chancellor doesn't get to decide who is and isn't allowed to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.
July 10, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah! This would be what is known as Stecken Sie es zu ihr
July 10, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anyone who still thinks JFK misspoke, should read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#Jelly_doughnut_urban_legend
July 10, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit is openly gay and a Social Democrat. He's not exactly a fan of Christian Democrat Angela Merkel. I'm betting Obama gets to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.
July 10, 2008 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would love to see TV coverage of 75,000 appreciative Germans getting the opportunity to be a part an Obama event compared and contrasted agaist McCain (Bush's guy) later speaking at the same venue in front of a handful of curious onlookers and his feeble entourage.
It's fun watching Republican talking heads have to work as hard as they have been to EARN their paycheck.
July 10, 2008 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or, 300,000 of them.
July 10, 2008 6:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or three million. Remember Europe has a very convenient short and medium-range transportation network, and Berlin is smack in the middle of it. People are going to show up just to give the FU to Bush.
July 11, 2008 7:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe W could have his shoulder rub buddy build a wall around the Brandenburg Gate so Obama can't get near it. Then Obama can speak right outside the barrier and start by saying "Chancellor Merkel -- tear down this wall!"
July 10, 2008 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Though I don't doubt someone from the Bush administration expressed displeasure at the idea of Obama holding a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, I suspect that the misgivings expressed by Merkel, as a former East German and therefore especially conscious of the symbolism of the monument, are genuine and not externally motivated.
Frankly, as a strong Obama supporter, even I'm uneasy about the, um, audacity of him holding his introductory speech for Europe as a "mere" candidate at such a historically charged location. The other sites that are apparently being considered, like the Gendarmenmarkt and Potsdamer Platz, would better serve the purpose of the visit in proportion to its significance.
July 10, 2008 4:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I understand your viewpoint but given the extraordinarily poor state of the U.S. image in Europe right now, I think that a larger jesture is called for and appropriate.
July 10, 2008 5:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about Alexanderplatz, or Judengasse?
I think you are right. It is rather audacious. But he has always struck me as an audacious kind of guy
July 10, 2008 6:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's an idea: Maybe Obama should give his speech at Auschwitz, I mean Buchenwald, the concentration camp his uncle helped liberate. That would be rather audacious.
July 10, 2008 11:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why not Pariser Platz, with the US Embassy just reopened? If Obama's going to talk about strong relations in the future, pointing to the historic location of the US mission in central Berlin seems like an obvious analogy. Obama can say 'there's a part of America right in the heart of this great city, and that's how it should be in the years to come'.
July 10, 2008 7:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, the Brandenburg Gate stands right at Pariser Platz, so, as I used to say as a kid, "Same difference!" :o)
July 10, 2008 8:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I recommend calling it ZooTV and holding it at the Tiergarten - plenty of room for a large crowd, and he can invite Bono.
July 11, 2008 3:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Der George kann Obama ins asch lechen!
I think that means "GTF out my bizness" in paraphrased German. Oh yeah,...another violation of the Hatch act,...using foreign diplomacy servants by preventing a political opponent his right to free speech. You know,...it doesn't matter where Obama gives his speech in Berlin,...he's the new JFK and there's nothing the GOP can do about it.
July 10, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush is such a pig and a complete and total asswipe! can we possibily last until 1-20-09?
he's like a toxic waste site...full of pollution and it will years to clean up his shit!
July 10, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe obama should deliver a speech in front of the White House listing all of Bush's war crimes and offenses against human rights. Now that speech would get some world wide press attention!
July 10, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm looking forward to him giving that speech from the Rose Garden . . .
July 11, 2008 12:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, too crude.
He'll simply open the archives and let the bloggers go to work.
When the mobs gather to hang BushCo by their tiny balls (and there will be mobs -- you don't imagine they haven't been tracking gun owners, for instance?), Obama will be able to step in, calm and moderate, and negotiate a compromise. Like long prison terms.
July 11, 2008 7:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
A California group submitted a proposal Monday to rename a sewage treatment plant after President Bush, calling the initiative a fitting tribute to the outgoing chief executive and the "mess" he'll leave behind.
The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco wants to switch the name of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Supporters hoping to put the issue on the November ballot turned in more than 10,000 signatures to San Francisco election officials, organizer Brian McConnell said. The measure needs just over 7,000 valid names to qualify and McConnell expects to find out later this month whether they made it.
Proponents of the renaming plan see it as fitting tribute to a president they contend has plumbed the depths of incompetence.
"We think that it's important to remember our leaders in the right historical context," said McConnell, a member of the group that was formed after friends came up with the renaming idea.
"In President Bush's case, we think that we will be cleaning up a substantial mess for the next 10 or 20 years," he said. "The sewage treatment facility's job is to clean up a mess, so we think it's a fitting tribute."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/07/state/n140707D60.DTL&hw=sewage&sn=003&sc=921
July 10, 2008 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Very appropriate name!
July 10, 2008 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I see one problem with this.
How will we be able to distinguish between sewage plants after all sewage plants have been named after George W. Bush?
July 10, 2008 5:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
we should honor those who clean our sewage, not saddle them with having to work at a place with such a disgraced name.
July 11, 2008 2:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
The only thing Americans can do is just hope that Bush chooses not to break any more laws before he leaves office. That's it -- hope. Because there is no more law enforcement, and there is no legal recourse ... for anything. If you disagree, prove it.
July 10, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
If it's a matter of fairness and respect for McCain,fine let him speak as well if and when he chooses to. I think it would be be interesting to see how the two candidates perform and how their messages are received. As Dear Leader might say, Bring it On!"
July 10, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that McCain should preempt this speech with a speech of his own. I recommend he give it in front of a big, green background. Maybe he could go to China like Nixon.
July 10, 2008 6:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is one of the most respected German newspapers, akin to the NY Times in the US.
What a bunch of pigs. I hope that Merkel doesn't succumb to this bs.
July 10, 2008 6:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
"It seems to be a matter of fairness to them. If Obama speaks, McCain should be able to speak too."
When Obama appears my guess is there will be upwards of 100,000 people of all backgrounds cheering wildly. When McCain speaks a few weeks later there will be 500 older guys who look like McCain eating jelly donuts and mumbling "Yah!" every time McCain says, "Meine freunde... THAT'S not change we can believe in...".
July 10, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
You forgot the Snidely Whiplash laugh and the axe-murderer smile.
July 10, 2008 9:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Britain's Labour government is not especially right-wing,
though it is pro-Iraq war, and Tony Blair appeared to agree
with Bush on many things to do with that. The current guy,
Gordon Brown, is a more conventional leftish politician, and might
easily be keen on signalling support for Obama over Bush or
McCain.
The most likely outcome of the next British election is a move to the more right-wing Conservative party, because Brown has not
been able to shake the general impression that he has all the faults,few of the virtues and little of the charisma of Blair. So the original poster is half-right. There will probably be a move to the right. Whether this would leave Britain's regime left or right of Obama is difficult to say. The scale is quite different, and what counts as near-socialism in the US might be seen as near-lunatic right-wingness in the UK.
July 10, 2008 6:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think if Obama were to give a speech in front of the Whitehouse he would be more likely to talk about how Reaganesque Bush is, and say that the Republicans are the party of ideas. Then he would praise Bush for compromising on FISA.
July 10, 2008 6:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
And I think you and others like you need to stop staying so mad about FISA, and getting to work on the issues that are going to shape our future. FISA is a small roadblock on the change that needs to occur. I guarantee you, you will have a tough time convincing me that not supporting Obama for his FISA vote will not help McCain. I mean for goodness sake, we have a much better chance of Obama changing the bill than McCain. Heck, McCain might implement MORE changes to the FISA bill.
July 10, 2008 10:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's not mad about FISA, he's just another PUMA troll who is looking for any excuse to attack Obama... take a look at his comments ... and one of his favourite blogs "Taylor Marsh"
Nuf said
July 10, 2008 11:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I should think that since 1945, McCain's relationships have been with a number of high-level government officials in Argentina.
July 10, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
The concern of the Germans is the use of certain sites for speeches involving a foreign political contest. I'm pretty sure they don't have anything against Obama talking about our ties to Germany, ecological concerns or something else of interest to a German audience.
July 10, 2008 6:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can you imagine a German candidate giving a speech in front of the Lincoln memorial? I bet that would go over well here....
July 10, 2008 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
"...whether the administration is possibly letting efforts to help McCain intrude on back-channel diplomacy in other areas."
Gee, ya 'spose? The Bush administration letting politics be priority number one over everything else, including human lives and world peace? Nah.
July 10, 2008 7:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why doesn't Obama keep his campaigning to the US? Does he think the Germans will vote for him or pony up some money for his weakening campaign coffers? What kind of a speech is he going to give? Criticizing, even in the very slightest, America and Americans (even George Bush) while overseas will really help solidify his problems with patriotism back home.
If he wants to talk about democracy, maybe he should pay a visit to his family in Africa and discuss the virtues of democracy and how they might benefit from it.
July 10, 2008 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I presume the same applies to Bush for shooting off his mouth in front of the Knesset in Israel.
Better trolls, please. Or at least ones who can keep their narrative consistent.
July 11, 2008 7:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Achtung, Baby.
July 10, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rest assured the NSA is reading all of the e-mails, text messages and all listening to all communications from the Obama campaign 24/7 in real time.
July 10, 2008 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is the same crap that had McCain in Colombia during the hostage rescue. Bush should stop using foreign policy this way, its a disgrace.
July 10, 2008 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Brandenburg Gate?
Obama giving an address there?
Damn! I am in Heaven! Yes! Yes!
Totally appropriate!
What will he talk about? A return of the US to the international community, perhaps? A repudiation of go-it-alone Schmittean politics? A faith in international law?
All of the above?
This is great!
July 10, 2008 9:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly ;)
If they happen to position it so the Gate is in the background, that's just a happy coincidence of celebrating the US embassy's return to its historic location.
July 10, 2008 9:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
As indicated before, Angela Merkel has no say in what happens in Berlin. If the mayor of Berlin agrees, then Senator Obama will be able to make his speech. It will be a very powerful speech, and of course the republicans are so scared that they are trying to do everything possible to undermine Obama's trip.
July 10, 2008 9:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
With respect to administration officials, this is certainly true. Not so for everyman, of course. For me, this has wiped out any respect I once had for our upholding the separation of powers and the rule of law over the executive branch. It doesn't exist. We now know that the success of these ideals in America rests on the benevolence of the people in power. I suppose it always has.
July 10, 2008 10:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama may prefer a location that echoes neither Reagan nor Kennedy. Perhaps the Berlin Olympic Stadium? Capacity: 72,000. Plus the spirit of Jesse Owens. And who can forget that the stadium was also the home of the Berlin Thunder from NFL Europe!
July 10, 2008 11:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, that is a nice idea with historical parallels. Gives Germany a feel-good moment - "look how far we've come". Allows some parallels with the China Olympics and human rights, etc.
July 11, 2008 3:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
"As indicated before, Angela Merkel has no say in what happens in Berlin. If the mayor of Berlin agrees, then Senator Obama will be able to make his speech."
Why is psmdsfc's post correct? Well, what does Obama need to give a speech there?
1 An airline ticket,
2. no visa is needed anymore for EU so he won't need that,
3. local police support which the lefty Mayor will provide, and
4. the Secret Service has to come which they can't refuse.
That's it. Merkel being against is is like Lieberman being sgainst it. Irrelevant.
But nice try, George. Next time give it some thought before you go off half-cocked again, maybe. Anyway, I am sure Lieberman fully agrees with you.
July 11, 2008 2:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
". . . . an Obama event . . . ."
Haen't we had enough of "celebrity culture"? Since when do we view politicians as entertainers -- perfectly suited for the tabloids?
How shallow can one get?
July 11, 2008 5:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
G.H.W. Bush tried to imitate JFK's sense of pomp and fanfare when he said "Ich bin ein Berliner." Unfortunately for Bush, he was in Frankfurt at the time!
July 12, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink