Merkel Uneasy Over Obama's Brandenburg Gate Speech

[babylonsister]

Merkel uneasy over Obama Brandenburg Gate address

Germany's Merkel signals unease over possible Brandenburg Gate address by Obama

GEIR MOULSON
AP News

Jul 09, 2008 08:59 EST


German Chancellor Angela Merkel has signaled unease over the prospect of a possible speech by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Merkel has "only limited understanding for using the Brandenburg Gate as an election campaign backdrop, as it were, and has expressed skepticism about pursuing such plans," Thomas Steg, a spokesman for the chancellor, told reporters.

However, Steg stressed that the chancellor is "very happy" for Obama to visit Germany and meet her and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Berlin city officials said this week that members of the Democratic candidate's campaign had contacted them about what permission and security issues would need to be resolved before Obama could speak in front of the monument.

The gate stood for 28 years behind the Berlin Wall in communist East Germany's heavily fortified border zone. Probably the capital's best-known monument, it was once a symbol of Germany's Cold War division and now stands for its reunification.

Steg noted that the Brandenburg Gate has become "a place with a particular exclusivity, intensity and symbolism" in view of past speeches by sitting U.S. presidents and events such as a large rally in solidarity with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

As a result, he said Merkel has voiced "great skepticism as to whether it is appropriate to bring an election campaign being fought not in Germany but in the United States to the Brandenburg Gate."

more...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/07/merkel_uneasy_over_obama_brand.php

[Pirate Smile]

1. BushCo is pressuring her to stop it.

[babylonsister]

3. If true, that would be no great surprise. The surprise would be that

Merkel even considers what the dim one might say.

[uponit7771]

19. Wouldn't doubt it

[JackORoses]

20. Bush told her if she didn't nix this, she was getting another massage.

[Doctor_J]

2. There is another thread on this - Bush is trying to stop the speech

[babylonsister]

6. I hadn't read that; I'll go look to see how the asswipe is involved. nt

[SteppingRazor]

4. Fair enough.

While I'm looking forward to the speech, I can also understand the chancellor's point of view, that doing this could be seen as giving Obama's campaign a sort of official imprimatur from the German government, and that such a perceived endorsement is, of course, to be avoided.

[Benhurst]

11. Exactly.

What would our reaction be if it were McCain and not Obama who was being given the venue?

I think the election should be fought out on home soil. And the way things are going, with the economy emerging as the overriding issue, campaigning at home gives us the high ground, anyway.

[demokatgurrl]

15. I agree 100%

It doesn't seem right to drag other countries' historic symbols into the U.S. election.
Visit there, sure. But campaign HERE.

But besides that, what the fuck power does BUSH have in GERMANY?

[jaysunb]

5. Maybe ,a back rub would help .....

:shrug:

[LiberalFighter]

7. Obama is campaigning in Germany?

Why? I think it is a waste of campaign time and money that should be spent here in the states.

IMO until Obama becomes President he should stay in the states unless he is there on official business for the Senate.

[babylonsister]

8. Not campaigning, but he's planning a visit to Europe and the ME

to introduce himself. I think the positive press will be worth it myself.

[Benhurst]

12. Let's not kid ourselves. Anything Obama or McCain does from now

until election day is campaigning.

As for "introducing himself" to Europe, a presidential candidate does not need to introduce himself until he has won the election.

The European heads of state are undoubtedly better informed on Obama's positions than most of us on DU. It's the American people, most of whom have paid little attention to the primaries, who need to be introduced to both candidates.

[babylonsister]

14. So write Obama a letter and tell him it's a waste of time.

Don't you think the good will from the rest of the world might be helpful? I do.

[Benhurst]

17. Obama will have the good will of the world if elected-- even

McCain, in the unlikely event he manages to win, can count on that, at least initially. The world is sick to death of George W. Bush, and any change will be viewed at least at first as an improvement. Once in office, maintaining that good will depends on what policies are followed.

Both Obama's and McCain's foreign tours are for home consumption.

As for writing Obama a letter, why? I'm sure Obama knows it's all about campaigning and little else. He hardly needs to be told.

[DrDan]

13. Not unlike mccains crucial visit to Colombia last week

official Senate business, I am sure

[Bullet1987]

9. Isn't there a BIG white nationalist movement going on in Germany?

[still_one]

10. Maybe she does like bush to touch her /nt

[bridgit]

16. Good for her. Why doesn't Obama go to the Nagasaki's ground-0?

Or http://youtube.com/watch?v=ggQ4wJTeIz0&mode=related&search=">The Temple of Reclining Buddha? American politicians have to stop using not just American troops and flags as backdrops; they have to stop using the world's resources for their personal, political gain.

[Catherina]

18. Vietnam memorial right here in the goold old US of A would be most appropriate n/t