Posted on 04/05/2009 2:16:20 PM PDT by PghBaldy
Q Sonja Sagmeister from a little country, Austria, from Austrian Television. Mr. President, you said you came here to learn and to listen. So a quite personal question -- what did you learn from your personal talk with the European leaders? And did this change in a certain way your views on Europe and its politics?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with many of them. ... There's a lot of -- I don't know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing -- and, you know, people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics.
(Excerpt) Read more at talkingpointsmemo.com ...
Guten Abend = Good Evening
LOL
Heh Heh... Babelfish isn’t too good, but let me give this a shot here... [I do not speak German! :)]
Obama ist definitiv ein Esel, ich zustimmen! Möglicherweise werden seine Mitarbeiter auch erschrocken, um zu erklären ihm, dass er den Fehler machte! Das würde lustig sein.
Maybe I’m not remembering right... It’s been about 20 years since I’ve heard it...
What would be Good NIGHT? I know she didn’t say “Guden NACHT”... Could’ve been something her father and mother used to say though — that and Gesundheit is the only German she ever spoke around me (her parents were deceased). Could be it was a sentimental-type “slang” phrase or something...
We used to have a little “ritual” where we said about 10 different things to each other when she was tucking me in. It has occurred to me as I sit here now that I can’t remember about half of it any longer... Rather upsetting, really...
"Gesundheit" - meaning "health" - is a standard German response to a sneeze.
Thanks again! I appreciate your help, and your sharing your knowledge with me! Fascinating stuff. :)
Obama makes Bush look good.
I keep saying that to my lib acquaintances. Drives them nuts.
"Gute Nacht" is "Good night."
Cute little German lullaby (we know it as "Brahm's Lullaby") begins with "Guten Abend, gut' Nacht".
On the other hand, "Gute Nacht" can also mean the condemned man's "last goodnight". Used to great effect in Mahler's setting of "Der Tambourg'sell" ("The Drummer Boy").
You know, you could probably remember quite a bit more of the bedtime ritual if you say what you remember out loud to yourself before you go to bed. If your memory works anything like mine, you’ll probably sit up at 2 a.m. and think, “Oh, yeah! That’s how it went!”
Too bad former native Ahhnold wasn’t with the Prez — he speaks fluent Austrian...
You mean to tell me that all over the world people have "their own particular issues and their own particular politics."? Astounding insight.
I think I was maybe 8 when I came to this realization. Glad Uhbama has a glimmer of understanding now. ;-)
The bad thing about that is that the awestruck female reporter just nodded and smiled as he said that sentence, though. You could tell by looking at her that she would have just loved to have had her way with him.
It’s absolutely repulsive how this guy is treated by the press and it’s even worse in the European press with the exception of a few British columnists.
Yeah - it was a softball question and he still (IMHO) screwed it up and gave America a black eye - or wait maybe that was his idea ... Can’t believe you read all 150+ posts on this ;-)
how did this guy become President Obama
The only foreign language he knows is Obonics.
Ya Betcha! ...that is as long as they can twist it that he was quoting Sarah Palin or something like that!
Others have said in the past that MAYBE what he is doing there is killing time till his people send him info so he can answer. It is a tragedy that during potentially the worst crisis in 70 years, a puppet is in charge.
A worsening financial crisis, runs on banks and a seemingly cranky McCain sharing the same party as an unpopular President (which I think was MOSTLY due to high gas prices). That, and massive fraud which allowed him plenty of sway, a meek press and the color of his skin which scared most naysayers lest they were hurt by his shady playing of the race card. In other words, “a perfect storm,” I’m shocked it was as close as it was. When one looks at how the economy crashed in Sept/Oct- all over the world, after high gas prices and food prices earlier in the year, and the popping of Greenspan’s last bubble (which was mistakenly ? created to save the day after his last bubble popped) it was a shame we didn’t have a better candidate.
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