With Fräulein Bonesky during his Victory Lap in the Summer of 2008 |
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 ...
Will he attract a crowd of 45?
If he wishes to emulate Kennedy’s speech he would more appropriately deliver it in Hamburg.
Shithausen would be the most appropriate place.
They came for jelly doughnuts but all they got was a kenyan goat herder! Listen to the crowd.
AP reporter Jim Kuhnhenn: “Fifty years ago next week, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (peace be unto him) gave the most memorable and historical speech in the history of presidential speeches at the Brandenburg gate...
...Oh, and I think Ronald Reagan stopped by there once too. But nobody really remembers what he said or talked about. Also, Bill Clinton spoke there.”
Dumbass.
Twit... more like "I am a jelly donut."
Some wag came up with the jelly donut jibe well after the speech. “Berliner” was in fact a correct German construct for “citizen of Berlin.” That would be like poking fun at a foreign dignitary who spoke of Manhattan because Manhattan is also a kind of cocktail.
With Fräulein Bonesky during his Victory Lap in the Summer of 2008 |
Don’t care if she did enjoy the workout. She’s still not guilty.
Sure, it was a gibe, we all know what Kennedy meant, and that he was trying to push a sense of solidarity with the people of West Berlin.
...Oh, and I think Ronald Reagan stopped by there once too. But nobody really remembers what he said or talked about.
Disgusting.
Something about “tear down this wall!” is memorable.
Moreso than “Ich bin ein Berliner” (”I am a jelly donut”, when he probably meant to say “ I am (born from) Berlin(-er) (German)”
(were the 450,000 in attendance laughing at him when he used the indefinite article, thinking to themselves,...”Well you don’t look like a jelly donut,...chuckle, chuckle,..applause for the guy who means well but doesn’t get it.....)
I think the GySgt was thinking about Ich bin ein Berliner when he was looking at Private Pyle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP8y63Ms4o
With Obamacare, and its death panels, as well as arming Israel’s enemies and the war against Christians, Buchenwald might have been a better choice.
Whatever the interpetation- JFK did turn into a jellied donut. Right?
Obama to Berliners- East Germany was on the right path with that Communism. What does it matter Freedom? That’s a negative idea.
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