Bush Official Denies German Press Reports On Obama Speech

The Bush administration is denying reports in German newspapers that officials expressed opposition to a possible Obama speech at the Brandenberg Gate, TPM reports:

Der Spiegel cited another German press report quoting Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt saying this about the idea: "It would be nice if the German government would focus on strengthening its contacts to us rather than already beginning to look for our successors."

But Kimmitt's spokesperson Brookly McLaughlin . . . says that the quote from Kimmitt was not a reference to the battle over the speech.

"He was meeting with some folks in Germany last week and was asked a question regarding U.S. policy after the election," she continues. "This was before the issue of the Obama speech had even arisen so in no way was it a comment on that."

She adds that Kimmitt didn't say that the German government shouldn't engage with Obama, saying that he merely said "that he hoped the German government would stay engaged with the current administration even as it began outreach to potential successors."

Read more on the German newspaper reports here.