I was in a cafe the other day, and there was a copy of Der Spiegel left on the table. This was the cover.
I have to confess that I don't get all that much of the German news (did you realize that it's written/spoken in German?) so I can't claim that I have my finger on the pulse of Deutschland. But I do watch a lot of CNN (the international version), and this morning it was all about Obama. Scenes of his speech, Germans waving American flags - then cuts to Kennedy giving his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
The poll in Der Spiegel claimed that 76% of Germans support Obama. In our lab I think that it's 100% (although I haven't actually asked everyone). Christina asked me what I thought about it the speech - I said it sounded pretty much like one of his U.S. campaign speeches. She said the was disappointed because "he didn't really say anything." And she was frustrated that the speech seemed targeted towards Americans rather than the Germans who were listening to it.
I think that for the most part people like Obama because he's not Bush. Der Spiegel puts it like this (turns out they have an English version):
Obama is far closer to the Germans. In fact, he seems almost European: not some Texas cowboy, but a Harvard graduate from an urban environment, and not a "straight shooter" but a man who emphasizes dialogue and mutual understanding.I'd say that's a good thing. But I'm worried that it may not play well at home. Who wants to have a beer with someone who "emphasizes dialogue and mutual understanding"? I saw that back in the U.S. that McCain and Obama are very close - I think it was something like 41% and 44% respectively.
Oh well. I'll leave you with this image of Obama's speech in Berlin.
2 comments:
I want to have a beer with Michelle...not Cindy. Michelle, John, and me, that would be fun. I'd invite you too, Emily. Also, not that its that important, but people are always disregarding that Bush got an MBA from Harvard, so, technically, in addition to being a faux cowboy, he's also a Harvard graduate. I wonder how the Germans feel about the absence of "blackness" some feel that Obama's are also fighting, given their Ivy league educations and extra-good jobs. I also wonder who the heck people think should be running for president...
I'm confused about the fact that a Harvard education makes him like a European. Harvard is not in Europe. We have a lot of prestigious universities in the US. Why is Europe claiming our most expensive and selective one? I'm annoyed...
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