Posted on 07/09/2008 12:26:12 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
BERLIN (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has slammed a request by Barack Obama to give a speech this month before the Brandenburg Gate as inappropriate, her deputy spokesman said Wednesday.
The conservative leader said that while she would be pleased to meet the US Democratic presidential hopeful, it would be wrong for him to hold a "campaign rally" at the historic symbol of German unity.
"It is unusual to do electioneering abroad," spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters.
"It is unusual to hold election rallies abroad. No German candidate for high office would even think of using the National Mall (in Washington) or Red Square in Moscow for a rally because it would not be seen as appropriate."
Authorities in the capital have confirmed that Obama plans to visit Berlin on July 24 and is interested in speaking at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate.
The left-leaning government of the city-state, which has the sole right to approve such a request, has not yet made a formal decision but Mayor Klaus Wowereit gave his backing Tuesday.
Steg said Merkel had "limited understanding" for such a request and found the Obama team's initiative "a bit odd". But he said it was up to candidates such as Obama to decide what was "in good taste".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
wow... I served in Berlin (W), when it still had the W for “west”, for 46 months. I heard the sirens. I was fortunate enough to see President Ronald Reagan during his visit. My daughter was born there.
I was there when Major Nicholson was shot by a soviet soldier and a soviet officer denied first aid. Maj Nicholson’s driver was forced at gunpoint to watch him bleed to death.
I was there for two of the Glienicke Bridge East-West prisoner swaps.
IMVHO, for Obama to even request such a venue is Hitleresque at best. I truly am appalled and offended as I suspect many Germans must be that they would even consider requesting use of the Brandenburg Gate for personal gain. I think it is despicable.
Maybe this will be the next “regret” he has.
I think that would be “Obama uber alles”
That fits right in with his push for United Nations agendas!!!
Nuremberg as in Nuremberg rally or as in Nuremberg trials?
There seems to be no limits on how stupid this guy is.
It is impossible to locate an image of one grand and symbolic spot, which to the post WWII generation of Americans resonates with the power of the Brandenburg Gate. There America finally drew a line in the sand. No longer did we need evil to be rationalized and embraced. The landmark brought us to reality. We finally created there our own frontier to an historically savage totalitarian threat. The old defenders were dead. JFK said Americans were the Berliners now. Germany had died defending it, so to my way of thinking it is now as American as Gettysburg. There Reagan used it to tell Russia he would defeat it and it took the money and ran. When Obama is President of the USA he should defineitly speak there.
For Barack to think that it's ok to speak there shows how he thinks that world is his oyster- they all bow to him. If he only had been a soldier deployed in another country for even a few days...
He reminds me of the young soldiers on their first few nights out in Nuernberg, thinking that Germany was just like America and they could act any way they wanted- until the Polizei demonstrated their fancy-dan batons and little tolerance for disrespect or vandalism by drunks of any nationality.
As a linguist, the statement by him that we can only say "thank you very much" in another language makes my blood boil at his arrogance and presumption that Americans are simply stupid. I don't know how many Americans he knows, but my guess is that he knows many who can't even speak proper English after 12 years of public education- but, there are plenty of us dumb soldiers who speak several languages and he would learn that if he knew any of us.
Vielen Dank- solche wahnsinn stoert mich auch. Ich bin in Nuernberg stationiert geworden und lebte in Deutschland fuer fast 13 Jahren. Schade dass ich nur “vielen Dank” sagen kann....
In reality, he is just another globalist and muslim fraud being perpetrated on the American people!!!!
The more grandiose the claims for Obama, the more obvious the fraud is!!!!
Obama thinks he is some sort of demagogue. Only dictators give speeches in that kind of manner.
Although that is the kind of joke you would see in the New Yorker.
“I did think it was a bit silly, his sentence, “Ich bin ein Berliner,” because it was with such a strong American accent. And then, of course, in West Germany, “Berliner” means a pancake ... so I thought that was rather silly (laughs). But, you know, one sort of respected his effort he made. ...”
-Margit Hoseinni
West Berlin Resident
Here’s the link:
I missed your ping, but better late than never. Just got through your Page...absolutely awesome!
Last line:
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, ‘Welcome to the Republican party.’
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