I've been biting my nails over Barack's plans to give a speech in Germany. I know everyone is really excited about this but I'm convinced it's a mistake.
First, there was much speculation that they would be doing it at the Brandenburg Gate, something that I found to be quite inappropriate. The fact that they STILL pursued it, even after various German politicians including Angela Merkel criticized the idea, was something I found stunningly arrogant.
Now he will be speaking before the Victory Column, which is a relief. And I am still biting my nails. After all...as much as we want him to be...
Barack Obama isn't President yet.
What business does he really have giving a speech overseas like this?? What is the rationale behind it? To quote Tuffie's comment from the diary on the rec list:
This has backlash stamped all over it. It fits every single GOP and media these: arrogance, President of Eurotrash or America?, etc., etc. It makes me uneasy.
This feels like it's all about Obama, Obama, Obama. It isn't going to gain him a SINGLE vote that he doesn't already have. It may, instead alienate those folks who already think he's too foreign and too different from them.
He is already a rock star. We have seen Obama in front of huge crowds a million times. The purpose of this trip is to shore up his commander-in-chief credentials. He is doing a PHENOMENAL job in that regard and I saw parts of his interview with Lara Logan this morning and was really thrilled with it. The Maliki development is just icing on the cake. The troops love him. It's really the best press he's had in a long, long time.
And then...he unleashes Obamamania in Germany?? When Mccain was abroad, he didn't do anything like this at all. Barack should meet with European world leaders and show that he is presidential. He can do that without any effort. Showing that he's a Rock Star can also be done without any effort but it isn't going to help him get elected.
Of course, he can't cancel the speech now that it's confirmed. So I guess I am just venting. But this is one of the few times that Obama does something that I think is really a lapse in judgment. I am dreading the reception to this speech. I hope it doesn't undo all the great images from the rest of the trip.