[Picture by Wolfgang Staudt.]
Der Spiegel broke the story last week that Obama might be making a major speech in Berlin, perhaps before the famous Brandenburg Gate where President Ronald Reagan called on the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall.
Just yesterday, Der Spiegel reported that in an effort to avoid taking sides in the American election Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, had decided that:
an invitation would also be extended to John McCain.
I get a lot of pleasure out of that idea – based on the reports of Obamania in Germany. I’m sure McCain would not be foolish enough to put himself in this position – but if he did – and he attempted to give a speech in Berlin the contrast would likely be enormous.
A German friend of mine tells me that in Berlin, you can often spot people wearing pins or shirts or scarves with Obama’s name, face, or logo them. Tens of thousands of excited and enthusiastic Germans crowding to see Obama give an historic speech, seeing in him a new hope for America, versus a drab few hundred who might go to see McCain.