Posted on 07/25/2008 6:28:32 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
The headline on the website of German magazine Der Spiegel about Barack Obama's speech in Berlin: "Huge Crowds Left with Mixed Feelings."
Two hundred thousand turned out for the speech, but CNN's Candy Crowley reported an "absence of euphoria" at the event.
As Senator Obama went global with "Yes, we can" and "Change we can believe in" he left at least some of the horde in Berlin scratching their heads. Perhaps these Germans, out to hear what all the excitement was about, were looking for leadership and substance rather than kumbaya.
What they got was the global version of "There is not a White America and a Black America and Latino America and Asian American America -- there is the United States of America."
Obama spoke not just as a "proud citizen of the United States but a fellow citizen of the world."
His message: "The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down."
At least some of the Germans listening to Obama surely sensed there was something problematic with what he was saying. His analogy of the tearing down of the Berlin wall to tearing down all lines of distinction between nations and religions was obviously fractured. The Berlin wall was a political wall that divided one people. It separated Germans from other Germans, a far cry from distinctions between nations and religions that Obama apparently wants to obliterate.
The German, French and British each have a strong sense of national history and identity.
Efforts for a European Union constitution that would establish links in Europe going beyond economics and extending to politics have thus far failed.
(Excerpt) Read more at shns.com ...
Maybe some of those in the audience actually can tell a real person from a straw man. I hope so.
Yep, they had rock bands, beer and bratwurst to attract the crowd … most stayed for the Obama freak show, as an afterthought. ;-)
I think Barrie overplayed his hand. As much as we bitch about the Euros, they're not stupid. They recognize shallow minutia as much as we do.
“Two hundred thousand turned out for the speech...”
The Germans are in steep decline from their admirable industrious, innovative and creative past, but they haven’t yet reach the point of abject stupidity under socialism.
200,000? Maybe
Whatever the number, only a handful of zealots would have come principally for the junior high school composition class speech.
Free concert, food and St. Pauli Girl....
Only the university students/Socialists were enraptured with Barry Hussein.
Older Germans well remember mass rallies by a splendid orator...
I think they also recognize similarities to Germany circa 1933 in Obama’s speeches, mannerisms, supporter’s actions and words, and eager to propagandize, gushing media allies.
They’ve seen the Obama’s movies before, be it 1933 Germany or Soviet ruled East Germany. I do not think many there with a brain and true sense of history want to see the third in the series.
These now are the walls we must tear down.”
++++++++++++++++++
Playing games with Reagan’s “tear down this wall” speech. I think he truly believes he can walk on water. He’s going to fall and fall hard I think. Obama, be a proud American first, work on American problems first. You’re not running for President of the U.N. There will be time later to trash the U.N. and then try to fix the world’s problems. You are going to trash the U.N. aren’t you? How else will you be able to tackle the problems of the world?
Obama really frightens me——an empty suit running for president.
I hope American voters can see through his nonsense.
It doesn't matter any more now than it did "then."
Propaganda rightly has its critics, but that doesn't stop it. What matters is that compelling images were captured to fuel the momentum and emotions were tweaked to fuel the momentum.
The world feels a bit different after that crowd left. And I have my own "mixed feelings." But they don't matter, either, because the momentum is being built.
“Two hundred thousand turned out for the speech,to watch a free concert...”
200,000 on a work day??
Germans had a series of harangues by a world-class unifier from 1923-45. This is not how you Americans say their first time at the rodeo.
Lived in Germany for several years … free beer, music and bratwurst … you bet. ;-)
But the leftist elements here revile Americans who believe in having a strong sense of national history and identity. Such sense of identity is called xenophobic, imperialistic, etc. etc. by Obama's friends.
“The world feels a bit different after that crowd left. And I have my own “mixed feelings.” But they don’t matter, either, because the momentum is being built.”
Momentum…? Like lemmings over a cliff ???
they are stupid... they allowed for the European Union.
Obama spent his formative years in Indonesia, in a Third World non-Christian country. He may not view American culture as special or distinctive. He did not seem all that interested in tearing “walls” down when he took up with Rev. Wright for 20 years. If he really means it, it’s a late conversion.
Falls flat???? They MOCKED him! Listen to the "my father is a kenyan goatherder" routine. They busted a gut. Then they made the camel woman in heat sound, and I thought they were gonna die!
Hitchens: If Obama’s race speech was so memorable, try quoting one line from it
posted at 3:35 pm on July 25, 2008 by Allahpundit
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As immortalized by C-SPAN, here’s the incident I had in mind yesterday in writing about the Berlin speech. Click the image and scroll down to chapter 17 to watch. In fairness to the left, no one except the most embarrassing, slackjawed Obama disciples went as far as to compare the speech to the Gettysburg Address. And of course it’s not the case that Lincoln’s speech was universally recognized as a masterpiece immediately afterwards. But it’s surely true that Barry O aspires to Lincolnesque heights of oratory, in which case I humbly offer two bits of advice. One: When you’re hunting for a killer line, try to aim higher than something Stuart Smalley might plausibly say to himself while staring into a mirror. And two: Try to avoid sentiments you might be forced to retract six weeks later.
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