Germany Doesn’t Suck

Yes, although not as much, I think. Because there really is a difference in having a black man as candidate that is greater than having a white ex-First Lady (btw, I voted for Clinton, so I mean no disrespect). And the Europeans are crazy. Look at how they feel about football (soccer). They just like to be in big crowds and cheer. Perhaps a poor tendency for Germans. But I am in Berlin and I won’t be fighting the expected 1 MM to see Obama. If I were feeling better, I might have, but the dr. has asked me to take it easy this week and being in a huge crowd and then trying to get home probably doesn’t fit that scenario. I’ll watch on TV.

J, it is not hard to understand. When Obama’s campaign wants a big crowd to hear him speak they put on a free concert just before he speaks. Thousands of people show up to hear the music and stay to hear Obama. Of course when the news reports about the large crowd they never mention the lure of the popular concert, only that 200,000 people showed up to hear Obama speak.

The quote below is from Newsbusters:
>>>>Well, it has been learned that before the presumptive Democrat nominee spoke to a crowd in Berlin Thursday, two popular German acts — reggae artist Patrice and rock band Reamonn — entertained the gathering audience.>>>>

G, Thanks for that. PS, I love football (soccer)..lol

Kim, while that is true, there is a bit more to it than that (and my post isn’t only about his talks). Obama has a big following here in Germany amongst Germans and many news outlets are, oddly enough, evening likening him to JFK. Not to mention all the expat bloggers who have said that they love him and will be voting for him.

Listening to Obama makes me excited again about American politics. He so rational, clear, and direct, while also being hopeful. I really wish I had been in Berlin yesterday…and that has nothing to do with wanting to see a free concert.

Personally, I think part of it is people wanting to fall in love with the US again. We are all tired of America the Bad Guy. And Obama represents that potential change. He plays the role well, knows how to pluck at our hope-filled heartstrings…

Obama invoked a romantic view of how the world should be. I don’t think he can make it work like that though. His biggest fans are the media who treat him like a star and the rest of the little sheeps follow along, just saying…ciao

Well, in Germany, the representative of the ‘not-Bush’ brand already begins with a substantial head start (witness the tongue bath Kerry got from the German press in 2004; here’s a representative picture that I took in early February ‘04). Add on top of that Obama’s attributes, which seem tailor-made for a German audience: he’s a young, handsome, non-white, left-wingish intellectual internationalist!

I think Hillary would’ve drawn a decent crowd, but I don’t think you’d have a similar ‘Hillmania’ phenomenon, since she has an air of the tried-and-true and lacks much of Obama’s mediagenicity. (Plus, I doubt that she’d have made the trip in the first place, since “been there, done that” was such a big piece of how she presented herself.)

As for the expats, if you’re in Germany, there’s a decent chance that you’re in accord with the German mode of thought. Mix in feelings of being left out while a pivotal election plays out back home. If we were still living in Hamburg this year, we’d have been over to Berlin in a heartbeat.

[And on comparing Obama to JFK: I remember that there was a weak effort to do the same for Kerry in ‘04, based mostly on his fortunate initials: I don’t think it’s an accident that the Stern cover in my photo refers to him as J. F. Kerry …]

Just to clarify, when I said, ‘While that is true’ to Kim, I meant the concert – not that people only stay for Obama after the concert. I think that a majority of the people would have gone even if there hadn’t been a concert.

Erin, I watched the speech too and agree with you. After eight years of doom and gloom with W, Obama did sound good. W can’t seem to pick a crowd up (like Clinton used to be able to) and his speeches seem so lifeless.

Jul, I agree with you – although I don’t want to fall in love with the US again, I would like to be able to stop apologizing for its actions.

Rositta, I agree with you too as far as the media hyping Obama. I like how McCain felt left out by the media while Obama was in Europe and did things like going to a German restaurant when Obama was in Germany and also releasing several statements criticizing Obama for several things he did/said on his trip just to get media attention. Sort of like a child that wasn’t invited to a party.

I like how McCain felt left out by the media while Obama was in Europe and did things like going to a German restaurant when Obama was in Germany and also releasing several statements criticizing Obama for several things he did/said on his trip just to get media attention. Sort of like a child that wasn’t invited to a party.

chucklingly:You like how he felt left out?

I hear what you and Rositta are saying. I dig the snark that comes along with that action; it’s as if he’s saying, You know, his speeches and media showboating over there are about as relevant as my statements right here in the US of A — with this Bratwurst in my hand. …but without having to put that into concrete words.

I’m not criticizing Obama’s European Summer Extravaganza 2008™; I just liked the subtlety of McCain’s dig by doing it from a German restaurant. Kind of a nice reminder not to get too big for one’s britches.

The media coverage strikes me as a bit bizarre, too. I can’t vote for him, but I do enjoy listening to him answer interview questions for reasons that have to do with language skills one isn’t allowed to attribute to a person of color without being labeled a rasist. To watch TV though, you would think he was leading the polls by a whole lot more than he is.

Anyway - you might enjoy this
http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/