Posted on 06/18/2013 11:51:27 PM PDT by presidio9
Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.
His 26-hour whirlwind visit to the German capital caps three days of international summitry for the president and marks his return to a place where he once summoned a throng of 200,000 to share his ambitious vision for American leadership.
That was 2008, when Obama was running for president and those who supported him at home and abroad saw the young mixed-race American as a unifying and transformational figure who signified hope and change.
Five years later, Obama comes to deliver a highly anticipated speech to a country that's a bit more sober about his aspirations and the extent of his successes, yet still eager to receive his attention at a time that many here feel that Europe, and Germany in particular, are no longer U.S. priorities. A Pew Research Center poll of Germans found that while their views of the U.S. have slipped since Obama's first year in office, he has managed to retain his popularity, with 88 percent of those surveyed approving of his foreign policies.
Obama also has an arc of history to fulfill.
Fifty years ago next week, President John F. Kennedy addressed a crowd of 450,000 in that then-divided city to denounce the Soviet bloc and famously declare "Ich bin ein Berliner," German for "I am a Berliner." Since then, presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton have used Berlin speeches to articulate broad themes about freedom and international alliances.
Obama -SNIP- will speak at the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of Germany's division and later reunification. It is a venue that German Chancellor Angela Merkel denied him in 2008, saying only sitting presidents were granted such an honor.
-SNIP-
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I guarantee you the residents of Berlin today, liberal as they may be, place a lot more importance on “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” than they ever did on “”Ich bin ein Berliner.” But they don’t work for AssPress of course.
I think you’re right.
I hope they remember and appreciate the Berlin Airlift more than they’ll ever remember the disgusting Obama.
Yeah, more Wiener jokes.
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