At long last, President
Obama does what was denied him in 2008 when he
instead spoke at the
Victory Tower while campaigning for the presidency:
like Kennedy and Reagan
before him, he gave a speech at the Brandenburg
Gate. But with the NSA's surveillance and other issues, the magic was gone.
At Brandenburg Gate, Victory Column Haunts Obama (SueddeutscheZeitung, Germany)
"That a feeling of disappointment set in the moment Barack
Obama waved to the crowd and left the podium with his jacket slung over his
shoulder has to do with the fact that he is being measured by a new bar. A bar
he himself raised to impossible heights in previous years, for example during
his appearance at the Victory Column in 2008. ... There is something sad about
the fact that Obama, the erstwhile 'great hope,' found it sufficient to provide pretty pictures for esteemed 'Angela's' election campaign."
Senator Obama at Berlin's Victory
Column, July 24, 2008: At the time, his appearance as the antithesis of Bush went a long way toward explaining his wild popularity. With recent revelations of NSA spying and his failure to have Guantanamo closed, much of that feeling has dissipated.
Fewer nuclear
weapons. That's the most concrete thing the U.S. president was able to offer
during his speech in Berlin. But because Obama was flexing his charm, the
audience cheered for him. This demonstrates two things: All that is required to
reaffirm German-American friendship is a little effort and a lot of routine. And
Obama has little optimism left for Europe.
BERLIN: The bar wasn't
particularly high, as he stepped up to the podium in front of the Brandenburg
Gate. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel had just spoken to the audience of 4,500 and proved once
again that they've obtained their offices without the help of sparkling
rhetoric. Wowereit's comments about German-American
friendship held little inspiration and of Merkel's words, all that will be
remembered is that she addressed the most powerful man in the world with the
informal "Du" and that she summoned him back to his seat with "not
yet." ["Du" is an informal use of the word "you" - more
familiar that what might be expected between the two leaders].
When
Obama is finally allowed to speak, it isn't hard for him to shine. The U.S.
president is a showman, takes off his jacket because of the heat, and says he
wishes he could look as good as Colonel Halvorsen
at 92. The colonel flew a "raisin bomber [aka/candy bomber]," in the 1948
[Berlin Airlift] and sits in the audience as an honored guest. If you are
self-deprecating, tell a good story, and praise Berliners for fighting for
freedom, you'll get lots of applause.
History is
ever-present
The
Airlift isn't the only reference to German history during the 28 minute speech [watch
below]. Obama speaks about the June 17, 1953
uprising, about philosopher Immanuel Kant and the "land
of poets and thinkers." Obama doesn't even attempt to take on the
challenge of trying to trump Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" - he simply quotes
the line. Above all, the 44th president reminds us that the 35th president was
intent on improving the human condition. There are echoes of this in the
well-known "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do
for your country," and in another excerpt from the speech in front of Schöneberger City Hall in June 1963: "lift your eyes
beyond the dangers of today."
Here,
Obama might have had an opportunity to break out of the appearance of going
through the motions that ran through his entire appearance on the PariserPlatz. Because the much-anticipated speech, in
the final analysis, is one thing above all: routine. If, more than twenty years
after the fall of the Wall, Obama addresses the "complacency" of
Europeans, then he is communicating to his partners a point of view that is
widespread in Washington. The future lies with the young companies in China,
India, and Southeast Asia - and not with the aging Europeans, who are mainly
interested in preserving the status quo.
Obama,
the brilliant orator, refrains from encouraging his Berlin audience to be more optimistic.
He might have provided a more detailed explanation as to why Americans are so
puzzled by Europe, and that changes can be seen as challenges and not only
threats. Instead, Obama preferred to keep things vague so as to provide few avenues
for criticism. The audience isn't bothered by Obama's excursion into the
abstract and is ready to cheer the president.
Only previously
known facts about PRISM
He
intends to fight for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo and is committed
to combating climate change ("the threat of our time"). The gay and lesbian
community will no longer be discriminated against, and girls will enjoy the
same opportunities as boys. The world and the West cannot rest as long as the
freedom of the world is threatened by nuclear weapons. That is why he will attempt
to convince Putin that Russia and the U.S. should reduce their arsenals of
nuclear warheads by a third. These are pretty much the most concrete things Obama
has to announce.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Even
in the case of the PRISM spy program or the use of drones, in other words,
topics that have recently caused disgruntlement in Europe, Obama repeated the
familiar. Strict rules are being followed. As mentioned in the press conference
at the Chancellery [watch above], Obama stressed that he would ensure a balance
between the need for privacy and civil liberties guarantees on the one hand,
and the protection of citizens and fighting terrorism on the other. His
message: "Trust me. I'll make sure that things don't get out of hand."
That
a feeling of disappointment set in the moment Barack Obama waved to the crowd
and left the podium alongside Merkel and Wowereit with
his jacket slung over his shoulder has to do with the fact that he is being
measured by a new bar. A bar he himself raised to impossible heights in
previous years, for example, during his appearance at the Victory Column in
2008 [watch below]. Since then, he has left many promises unfulfilled and has
disappointed people around the globe. This has been described countless times.
But
there is something sad about the fact that Obama, the erstwhile "great
hope," found it sufficient to provide pretty pictures for esteemed "Angela's"
election campaign and as proof for the audience at home that Berliners still cherish
America. It would really have been beneficial for the German-American
friendship that was so frequently reaffirmed during Obama's 25-hour visit, if
the latter had made an appearance that was less routine and more
thought-provoking.
