Your Obama Talks To Germany Liveblog
Hello, and welcome to your Obama Talks To The Germans Liveblog, which has unexpectedly begun early! They do prefer their trains run on time over there, don't they?
Obama is telling Berlin to "do their duty" and big upping NATO and telling people to "look at Berlin" and not at John McCain, who is at some wurst-hut in Columbus, Ohio today.
Obama credits Berlin for starting the whole wall-tearing down craze. The fall of the Berlin Wall "brought new hope," but it also allowed terrorists to come through those walls. The 9/11 terrorists trained in Hamburg, after all, he says. That's sure to be a happy thought for the Germans. Also, the polar icecaps are melting, which means people will need to build new walls called "levees."
The Germans have gathered in a group that looks like many thousands, probably because the Decemberists are playing.
Obama says the Europeans are "bearing new burdens," so he's sorry about all those Americans who criticize Europe. Look to the people passing themselves off as Canadians, Berlin!
"That is why the greatest danger of all is to build new walls" between people. Immigration reform? Then he says that walls between Christians and Jews and Muslims must be torn down. I'm guessing he's not including the Western Wall. Though I don't know. Maybe his note read: "You're next."
"History reminds us that walls can be torn down." Also, the basic tenets of civil engineering remind us of this.
Obama tells the Germans that America needs NATO troops in Afghanistan, probably because he understands the current deployment of U.S. troops and knows that it's going to actually going to take more than McCain's SURGE MAGIC to make the SUPER SURGE in Afghanistan work.
"This is the moment where the world needs to support the millions of Iraqis," Obama says. SO BRING ME YOUR STRONG, STRONG EUROS and I will end the war. Everyone claps. Ha, ha! You're on the hook now, Germany.
"This is the moment to give the children" - the KINDER - back their future. Please do not break out in a rousing chorus of "Tomorrow Belongs To Me." That would send the wrong message.
The McCain campaign alerts me that their candidate is now juggling six flaming chainsaws, and it's really awesome, and you're missing it.
Obama links the phrase "Never Again" to Darfur. One should note that Darfur, itself, has demonstrated the limitations of saying "Never Again."
"I know my country has not perfected itself...we've made our share of mistakes." That's going in an ad, I betcha!
This next part...every language is spoken, every idea is welcome...that's pretty darned good oratory, though! "These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart."
Might as well dispatch a day nurse to check on Chris Matthews' restless leg. This is his "Obama as Gift To the World" credo writ large.
Wow, apparently Berliners demand a short address. Good thing Obama didn't make any of his primary night addresses in Germany.
Andrea Mitchell calls the speech "soaring." Obama departs the scene, and now Alphaville will play, or something. Really, my knowledge of German pop music sort of ends with their Afternoons In Utopia album.
Mark Halperin is on Fox. He's got a very limited range of analysis, so I don't feel bad about having the sound down. He's probably saying things like, "Berlin is in Germany!" and "Obama spoke using words!"
Germans are pretty excited, high-fiving Obama. At least I hope those are high-fives! Everyone has a digital camera.
Chuck Todd says that maybe John McCain should have competed by doing a bus tour of Michigan. I think maybe John McCain should get out of the business of demanding that Obama goes on overseas trips.
CNN is the first network to break away from the coverage. Fox and MSNBC are sticking with it. Chuck Todd calls Obama's move an attempt to grab onto Bush's "reverse coattails." Fox has broken away from the coverage. MSNBC is sticking with it because OMG BRIAN WILLIAMS IS IN THE SHOT NOW. John Kerry is relegated to a sidebox, because Obama is now with Hero Newsman and the Most Important Boom Microphones In The World.
Meanwhile, John McCain is about to circumnavigate the state of Ohio in a jetpack that he designed and built himself. It's too bad we are missing it!
Mika: "Even the sunlight served Obama well." SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. The winged chariot of Phaeton himself has smiled upon Obama. Meanwhile, McCain wanted to do a photo-op on a rain-swept oil derrick today.
So, that's it. Obama is loved by Germans, which is bad for America. Brian Williams is a golden God. Walls are bad, unless they are load-bearing walls or border fences. America has made mistakes, which is blasphemy. And the SUN IS VOTING FOR OBAMA. Ich bin ein liveblogger!
POSTSCRIPT: Want to know where John McCain actually is? He is at the "Fudge Haus," talking about small businesses and the Dalai Lama as some atonal windchimes bang in the background. These are "bad optics" even if you close your eyes.
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First Posted: 07-24-08 01:27 PM | Updated: 08- 1-08 05:12 AM