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Barack Obama bombs in Berlin: a weak, underwhelming address from a floundering president
The Telegraph ^ | June 21, 2013 | Nile Gardiner

Posted on 06/21/2013 7:17:20 AM PDT by w4women

When John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech in front of the Schöneberg Rathaus on June 26, 1963, 450,000 people flocked to hear him. Fifty years later a far more subdued invitation-only crowd of 4,500 showed up to hear Barack Obama speak at the same location in Berlin. As The National Journal noted, “he didn’t come away with much, winning just a smattering of applause from a crowd that was one-hundredth the size of JFK’s,” and far smaller than the 200,000 boisterous Germans who had listened to his 2008 address as a presidential candidate. JFK had a clear message when he came to Berlin a half century ago – the free world must stand up to Communist tyranny. 24 years later, President Reagan stood in the same spot famously calling on the Soviets to “tear down this wall.”

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: berlin; obama
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To: upchuck
The crowd size remarks are very unfair as this latest speech was invitation only. One bright spot is that the crowd was estimated at 4500. Interesting, since AIR, 6000 tickets were available.

The article mentioned it was an invitation-only crowd.

21 posted on 06/21/2013 7:56:06 AM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Obama's Enemies List - Yes, you are a crook.)
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To: w4women

More people are discovering that the Emperor has no clothes . . .


22 posted on 06/21/2013 7:56:52 AM PDT by AtlasStalled
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Ich ben ein doofus


23 posted on 06/21/2013 8:01:43 AM PDT by Mr. K (There are lies, damned lies, statistics, and democrat talking points.)
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To: w4women
Our Feckless Ruler -

The Brussels Bureaucrat -

Delicious . . .

24 posted on 06/21/2013 8:05:41 AM PDT by atc23 (The Confederacy was the single greatest conservative resistance to federal authority ever.)
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To: AtlasStalled
"More people are discovering that the Emperor has no clothes . . " . . .

Maybe the clothing is in the closet - like him

25 posted on 06/21/2013 8:07:20 AM PDT by atc23 (The Confederacy was the single greatest conservative resistance to federal authority ever.)
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To: VeniVidiVici

If it was invitation only and he was among “friends” that makes it even worse as he only received a lukewarm response and a smattering of applause from his audience; they didn’t seem too enamored of him...

..and with his Thug-stocracy in place an “invite” may mean mandatory attendance-—or else!


26 posted on 06/21/2013 8:08:04 AM PDT by homegroan (Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option....)
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To: w4women

He is only floundering if Obamacare is killed. Otherwise he has accomplished what Hitler couldn’t.


27 posted on 06/21/2013 8:09:10 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: w4women

Mmmmm, lame-duck flopsweat ........


28 posted on 06/21/2013 8:10:07 AM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: All armed conservatives.)
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To: Robert DeLong

Ya, but Chris Mathews said the sun got in his eyes, and that’s why his speech was so lackluster.

Why is there always an excuse with this president? In the Denver debate, the liberal media excuse was the altitude and jet lag. On numerous issues, the ongoing excuse is that he inherited problems from the Bush administration. There is always some excuse for this president, per the liberals.


29 posted on 06/21/2013 8:17:15 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: w4women

30 posted on 06/21/2013 8:18:32 AM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
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To: upchuck
"Given my intense dislike for nobama and those around him, I really hate to write this, but:

The crowd size remarks are very unfair as this latest speech was invitation only."

Yes, Obama has a cover story to explain the poor turnout. Let's go a step further now and ask why such a major address was "invitation only"?

Perhaps his German hosts suggested there could be trouble with the crowd (protests, hecklers) unless it was strictly controlled? Regardless of the reason, the small crowd tells us what we need to know - Obama is not very popular in Berlin, and has made a precipitous decline in the eyes of the Germans since his visit five years ago.

31 posted on 06/21/2013 8:20:37 AM PDT by BigBobber
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To: Roccus
What you say is true, but it goes both ways. I believe the media in 2008 poo-poohed the concert and the free beer. "Oh, people aren't there for the music -- they are there for the historic moment of hearing a great speech from the greatest American ever." At the time, Obama was god-like and got massive credit for every little thing.

Now things are different, and the media is guilty of its own flavor of intellectual dishonesty by just shrugging and saying, "Of course the crowd is small: no free beer this time; it's no reflection on Obama, of course."

Both sides need to maintain their intellectual honesty. I'm pretty sure most Conservatives can fess up and say "Yeah, maybe I'm being a little inconsistent on this." But the media? Does anyone see them saying "We were drinking kool-aid in 2008, but we now realize that this guy is basically a phony"? I don't see it. I think the media is perfectly comfortable with its double-standard: Maybe 2008 is not like 2013, but the main thing is that Obama is still the greatest American ever.

32 posted on 06/21/2013 8:23:42 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: w4women
Obama "jumped the shark" long ago.

He needs to stop worrying about the world and worry about America.

He's not an American though so no surprizes here.

33 posted on 06/21/2013 8:41:52 AM PDT by Newbomb Turk ("All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.")
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To: w4women

Yes, the comments are good. the worst epithet they can throw at the author is that he sounds like Fox News. That one lonely news channel drives them into fits.


34 posted on 06/21/2013 8:48:48 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (I am a dissident. Will you join me? My name is John....)
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To: ClearCase_guy
I'm pretty sure most Conservatives can fess up and say "Yeah, maybe I'm being a little inconsistent on this."

How so? I think most conservatives knew that Obama was a Marxist, Kenyan, anti-American, empty-suit sack of s**t then, and they still know it now.

35 posted on 06/21/2013 8:53:14 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: Sicon
I think most conservatives knew that Obama was a Marxist, Kenyan, anti-American, empty-suit sack of s**t then, and they still know it now.

Heh. I know what a prog would say to that: "He is *not* an 'empty-suit!'"

36 posted on 06/21/2013 9:19:29 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (I am a dissident. Will you join me? My name is John....)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Oh yeah, I hold out no hope that and American journalist might lambaste Obama and expose him as a fraud.


37 posted on 06/21/2013 11:16:14 AM PDT by Robert DeLong (u)
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To: w4women
John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech

I have read that the actual translation of JFK's quote is, "I am a jelly donut." Obama's speech required many more tortuous platitudes to say pretty much the same thing.

38 posted on 06/21/2013 11:23:29 AM PDT by layman (Card Carrying Infidel)
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To: Robert DeLong
"...the British press exposes Obama for the empty suit he is."

He's still a communist dicktator imposing fascism on America.

39 posted on 06/21/2013 11:26:00 AM PDT by newfreep (Breitbart sent me...)
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To: Hoodat

Goody! Thanks for the ping! Love that guy!


40 posted on 06/21/2013 11:51:12 AM PDT by penelopesire (TIME FOR OBAMA TO ANSWER FOR BENGHAZI UNDER OATH!!)
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