Obama's Strasbourg's speech was brilliant....

[tocqueville]

no wonder because he touches the very core of the relation between the US and Europe :

"It’s always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone, or to wait for the action of somebody else. It’s more difficult to break down walls of division than to simply allow our differences to build and our resentments to fester. So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we’ve allowed our Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there’s something more that has crept into our relationship. In America, there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what’s bad.

On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.

So I’ve come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies, but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden. Together, we must forge common solutions to our common problems.

So let me say this as clearly as I can: America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes. We are confronting the greatest economic crisis since World War II. The only way to confront this unprecedented crisis is through unprecedented coordination."

this above is a very accurate view of the situation and exactly what is to be said to restore confidence.

of course rightwingers will go apoplectic about this

[meegbear]

1. K&R!

[roughsatori]

2. It was a brilliant speech. Obama is gifted in his use of language.

His beautiful use of parataxis as explication is unusual. Even when I disagree with Obama his methods for getting a position across in speech are amazing. Also, he is one of the few modern day politicians who can write.

[malaise]

3. He is one of the few modern day politicians who can write.

So true.

[WhiteTara]

4. his speech writer's name is

John Favre
http://dailycontributor.com/200812192372/jon-favreau-obama-speech-writer/

Of course speech writers only write what the speaker wants to say in the most eloquent terms possible.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Very nice.