Thursday, July 24, 2008

Impressions of Obama in Berlin


It was a big day for workmen on the remodel so I got the opportunity to see Barak Obama's Berlin speech in real time on CNN 10am PST, 7.24.08. The last time I watched a real time event related to the campaign was on the last primary when Obama secured the nomination. I was amused that one of the commentators prior to the speech mentioned Portland as being Obama's other most notable sized audience. It was great to be a part of the crowd and having visited Berlin felt a further sense of place with this speech.

I can't see an image of the Victory Column in the Tiergarten without thinking about Bruno Ganz and his angel colleagues in Wim Wenders' Himmel uber Berlin aka Wings of Desire or the horrendous rainstorm PDR and I got caught up, the result of which was a memorable picture of her wringing her pants out in the tub once we got to the hotel.

The weather and probably the angels were in Barak Obama's favor on this Thursday evening. I conclude that sometimes symbolism is of highest signficance. For Obama to come to Berlin and use all of his rhetorical splendor as a citizen of the world is quite significant, I believe. And I imagine that most of the 200,000 curious Germans felt that way as well in addtition to millions of other Europeans who saw it on television.

The energy of the crowd was very impressive. He made a joke about not looking like other Americans who have come to Berlin and quickly told the story of his father, coming to the US from Kenya, which gave that story a kind of credence in this setting. And the setting was Obama's next major emphasis. He took us back 60 years to explore the significance of the Berlin Air Lift. This was the emblematic moment Obama used as a point of example, departure and exploration for the rest of his speech. "Burdens of global citizenship continues to bind us together. Cooperation between nations is not a choice."

Obama does not have to go far to find a metaphor in this city: New walls can not divide us... Walls between Christians and Muslims and Jews these are the walls we must tear down. And he moved on to other global issues: nuclear weapons, Afghanistan, and the environment. His plea for a worldwide effort to save the planet received the loudest and most exuberant response on the crowd reaching almost all the way back to the Brandenburg Gate.

He had to walk a careful line during his speech. Obama needed to strike the chord of being a world citizen, not candidate or presumed US President. "America and Europe can not turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe." Is this the kind of thing we want our world leaders to believe in and promote? Yes please. After Altamont, the Grateful Dead sang "One Way or another, This darkness got to give." In July of 2008 after a disgraceful presidency and sad excuse for foreign war, a bit of light peaks out of the darkness with remarks like

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived, at great cost and great sacrifice, to form a more perfect union, to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world.

Television got even better that day. John McCain's response to Obama took place at a German Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio because the planned Mission Accomplished style photo op on an off share oil derrick was cancelled due to Hurricane Dolly. He looks rattled and defensive, but most telling is the campaign's attempt to connect their candidate with "Well, I'd love to give a speech in Germany to - a political speech - or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in...But I would much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate for the office of the presidency." In the back of McCain's head, was a sign that read Der Fudge Haus. Could there be a vaster contrast in this imagery? It was like a huge multi-million dollar epic alongside a cable access broadcast.
posted by well-executed buffet at 9:28 PM
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