I finally got to see a podcast of the STOU address here. I couldn't bring myself to get up at 3 AM.

[DFW]

Granted, his oratory style is not Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, but it was all the real Job Biden, it was GENUINE. The man gave of himself as much as he was reading a speech. It was sincere, a powerful message to the country and the world. It was obvious not all would like it, and it was just a obvious that Biden was willing to take that into account.

A left-leaning German commentary tore him apart for supporting American-made products and favoring the Ukrainians over Putin. The guy was nasty enough to accuse Biden of starting an anti-German trade war, of all things! Europeans can be SO narrow-minded sometimes, it's maddening. They're sometimes so smug and sure of their superiority, they could be Republicans. Thank goodness De Gaulle and Adenauer got along so well. I wanted to scream at the article--"Did you really think that Biden spent all the time on that speech to start a trade war with Germany? Did you really think that was his primary concern in the world? No wonder they trashed Galileo for saying the world revolved around the sun, and not the other way around.

I couldn't BELIEVE the shots of MTG--not only screaming her cat calls, but dressed as if she had just come from a work shift at the local cat house. If McCarthy wasn't cringing inside, it was only because the lights spared him the view. Biden was gracious enough to McCarthy, and it was plain that McCarthy was uncomfortable being killed with kindness. Sort of like the sixties anti-war slogan: "what if they had a war and nobody came?" McCarthy was prepared for some deference, but not outright respect. Biden is clever enough to let the Media do the dirty work for him. They certainly don't have a difficult job, do they? The more gracious Biden is, the less McCarthy knows how to handle it. If you are expecting to take a swing at someone, the last thing you expect is for him to stop you and give you boxing lessons. Biden roped himself a few dopes last night.

[EYESORE 9001]

1. I suppose the EU is allowed some measure of 'Eurocentrism'

without criticism, but that commentary was ridiculous for suggesting that the Biden administration wants a trade war with Germany.

[DFW]

3. They are absolutely allowed being Europe orientated. They are Europeans, after all.

But some people here act as if the world revolves around their own pet interests and localities. Plus, they get so nasty and extreme as to lose all credibility. As if Newt Gingrich ever REALLY cared about the people in his Georgia district. Such people are sensationalists, no better than Fox Noise personalities. They HAVE to know that the last thing on Joe Biden's mind was starting a trade war with Germany. It's good for a few extra clicks, maybe, but no one with half a brain really believes he had nothing else on his mind. He had the parents of Tyre Nichols there. No mention in the German tirade about that. Was THAT supposed to have something to do with a trade war with Germany, too?

But let cooler heads prevail. I have yet to hear any major German political figures trash the speech to the extent that this op-ed did (or, at all, really), no matter how influential it may have been. The author was out to raise a fuss, not a point.

No doubt, a few will complain that Biden wasn't mentioning Europe enough, but after all, the speech was addressing the state of OUR union, not the European Union. Let Olaf Scholz or Ursula von der Leyen make a speech about that if they want. They won't, of course. No matter what they might say, since they'd have to piss off too many allies. Von der Leyen should have been the next chancellor anyway, but she speaks her mind a little too often, and she smarter than most of the male politicians in Germany. They put up with Merkel because they underestimated her at the beginning, and then it was too late. They weren't going to make THAT mistake twice in a row.

[raging moderate]

2. Hey, tell the Germans we are not against them, okay?

Please. Remind them what we are up against in this country. We have some genuine reactionaries here who would like to force the world back into feudalism. And some of them are billionaires who spread their money around to the loudest bullies they can find. And some of our people here have experienced a loss of white privilege together with some economic decline, and they have been listening to these loud bullies. Joe Biden is trying to reach out to these people and show them that we do care about them too.

[DFW]

4. Luckily, I don't have to

Most Germans are not a extreme as this one author is. Just because one jerk thinks he is the German left's version of Marc Thiessen or Ross Douthat, it doesn't mean the whole nation thinks that way. My wife is German, and she understood the sentiments behind the speech just fine. She hate bullies, not billionaires. Being European, she is white, but has worked at a halfway house for difficult AA guys in Boston, too. Pretty color-blind at this point. She is a social worker by profession, worked with the downtrodden that German society tries to sweep under the carpet just like we do. She suffered with me under Trump. She is happy for me that Biden has turned us 180° from that dark place.

Knowing the language is vital. I can talk to anybody here (and I do). If you don't speak German here, you have about as much chance at getting to know the people as you would trying to get to know Americans speaking ONLY German.

I can promise you, we have about 85% friends here as opposed to 15% that believe extreme crap from the right and left. They make a disproportionate amount of noise, but that's about it. And don't forget that over 20 years ago, when Fox Noise tried to apply for a license to broadcast their bile here in German, they were denied by the German government, since their anti-Nazi laws are still on the books, and Fox came too close for comfort.