In an attempt to secure the German vote in this year's presidential election, presumptive Democrat Party nominee Barack Obama wowed audiences in Berlin, Germany, yesterday, with his fiery rhetoric and aggressive speech style.
The candidate came to Berlin hoping to upstage earlier appearances by presidents Kennedy and Reagan and apparently succeeded, say many in the audience.
"He eez a greet leader," said Kernal Klink, one of the members of the audience, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands. "Vee Germans are goot at peeking greet leaders, you know."
One lady in the audience said she was so impressed with Obama that she fainted.
"He eez amazing, dat Obama," said Elsa Dusseldork. "I vant dat he should be Chancellor of Germany! I vant dat I should have his children for him."
Though Obama said nothing of substance during his speech, his rhetorical style and hand gestures thrilled the crowd, which has grown weary of low key German politicians. Overhead, a replica of the World War I flyer Red Baron carried a banner which read: "Die Snoopy!" -- apparently a reference to the Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown's pet beagle imagines he is in an aerial dogfight with a German pilot.
"Personally, I find that cartoon offensive and tasteless," Obama told the crowd. "It's time to start breaking down the walls which divide us. In fact, I was recently the victim of a vicious attack by the New Yorker."
If elected president, Obama promised the German crowd that he will ban all negative depictions of Germans in American media.
"Hogan's Heroes is toast," he promised. "I also want to get rid of these films that depict the Germans as cruel monsters. I'm sure it wasn't all that bad."
During his visit, Obama was asked about comparisons between World War II and the current conflict in Iraq. Asked if he would have favored American non-intervention in Germany, he said he would have concentrated his efforts on fighting the Japanese instead of the Germans.
"Just like the 911 terrorists, the Japanese were the ones who attacked us," he said. "I don't know why we got involved in D-Day in the first place. I mean, the Germans didn't do anything to us."
"We love you," the German crowd responded back.
One German supporter asked the nominee whether he would consider moving Republicans into concentration camps. Obama said he would take the proposal under advisement.
After his speech, Obama travelled to the site of the former Berlin Wall, which he vowed to help reconstruct.
"Years of neglect and vandalism have eroded this great monument," he said. "Like the Chinese, the Germans take pride in their wall and America is willing to step in and help them rebuild it."
For Obama, Germany was definitely friendly territory. However, he still has to win several "swing-countries" like France and Great Britain. In Paris today, Obama met briefly with President Nicolas Sarkozy, who asked Obama if he would be willing to lift the informal ban on French Fries and French Toast. Currently, both are referred to as "Freedom Fries" and "Freedom Toast."
"France and the United States are allies," he said. "We need to tear down the walls that divide us."
Meanwhile, Obama's Republican rival John McCain mocked the candidate by visiting a German restaurant in Ohio.
"How many electoral votes does he think he's going to get in France and Germany?" queried McCain. "What a waste of time."
While Obama was grabbing headlines in Europe, McCain had hoped to steal some of his thunder by holding a news event on an offshore oil rig next to a giant fuel spill. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, the event was cancelled.
"I thought the American public would love to know that I support off shore oil drilling. I was going to explain that the giant spill was not the result of off shore drilling even though it was a giant oil spill. I wouldn't want to injure the public's perception of off shore drilling. It's a very promising solution to our current oil crisis."
The candidate came to Berlin hoping to upstage earlier appearances by presidents Kennedy and Reagan and apparently succeeded, say many in the audience.
"He eez a greet leader," said Kernal Klink, one of the members of the audience, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands. "Vee Germans are goot at peeking greet leaders, you know."
One lady in the audience said she was so impressed with Obama that she fainted.
"He eez amazing, dat Obama," said Elsa Dusseldork. "I vant dat he should be Chancellor of Germany! I vant dat I should have his children for him."
Though Obama said nothing of substance during his speech, his rhetorical style and hand gestures thrilled the crowd, which has grown weary of low key German politicians. Overhead, a replica of the World War I flyer Red Baron carried a banner which read: "Die Snoopy!" -- apparently a reference to the Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown's pet beagle imagines he is in an aerial dogfight with a German pilot.
"Personally, I find that cartoon offensive and tasteless," Obama told the crowd. "It's time to start breaking down the walls which divide us. In fact, I was recently the victim of a vicious attack by the New Yorker."
If elected president, Obama promised the German crowd that he will ban all negative depictions of Germans in American media.
"Hogan's Heroes is toast," he promised. "I also want to get rid of these films that depict the Germans as cruel monsters. I'm sure it wasn't all that bad."
During his visit, Obama was asked about comparisons between World War II and the current conflict in Iraq. Asked if he would have favored American non-intervention in Germany, he said he would have concentrated his efforts on fighting the Japanese instead of the Germans.
"Just like the 911 terrorists, the Japanese were the ones who attacked us," he said. "I don't know why we got involved in D-Day in the first place. I mean, the Germans didn't do anything to us."
"We love you," the German crowd responded back.
One German supporter asked the nominee whether he would consider moving Republicans into concentration camps. Obama said he would take the proposal under advisement.
After his speech, Obama travelled to the site of the former Berlin Wall, which he vowed to help reconstruct.
"Years of neglect and vandalism have eroded this great monument," he said. "Like the Chinese, the Germans take pride in their wall and America is willing to step in and help them rebuild it."
For Obama, Germany was definitely friendly territory. However, he still has to win several "swing-countries" like France and Great Britain. In Paris today, Obama met briefly with President Nicolas Sarkozy, who asked Obama if he would be willing to lift the informal ban on French Fries and French Toast. Currently, both are referred to as "Freedom Fries" and "Freedom Toast."
"France and the United States are allies," he said. "We need to tear down the walls that divide us."
Meanwhile, Obama's Republican rival John McCain mocked the candidate by visiting a German restaurant in Ohio.
"How many electoral votes does he think he's going to get in France and Germany?" queried McCain. "What a waste of time."
While Obama was grabbing headlines in Europe, McCain had hoped to steal some of his thunder by holding a news event on an offshore oil rig next to a giant fuel spill. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, the event was cancelled.
"I thought the American public would love to know that I support off shore oil drilling. I was going to explain that the giant spill was not the result of off shore drilling even though it was a giant oil spill. I wouldn't want to injure the public's perception of off shore drilling. It's a very promising solution to our current oil crisis."
No comments:
Post a Comment