Doing the Brandenburg Gate was a bust - so Team Obama decides to move to another site.
Germans happy? Notsomuch.
Still, even as the issue of his speech’s location has now been settled, a number of politicians in Berlin are still dissatisfied with the site. The Siegessäule — or Victory Column — was erected in memory of Prussia’s victories over Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870/71). The column originally stood in front of the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, but was moved by Adolf Hitler to its current location in 1939 to make way for his planned transformation of Berlin into the Nazi capital “Germania.”Allah makes a very good point about Sen. Obama's new venue for his campaign speech in Berlin. Yes, it is a campaign speech.
“The Siegessäule in Berlin was moved to where it is now by Adolf Hitler. He saw it as a symbol of German superiority and of the victorious wars against Denmark, Austria and France,” the deputy leader of the Free Democrats, Rainer Brüderle, told Bild am Sonntag. He raised the question as to “whether Barack Obama was advised correctly in his choice of the Siegessäule as the site to hold a speech on his vision for a more cooperative world.”
Andreas Schockenhoff of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats said, “the Siegessäule in Berlin is dedicated to a victory over neighbors who are today our European friends and allies. It is a problematic symbol.”
The more basic question is why Obama feels the need to conduct a campaign event among Germans. Meeting with foreign leaders makes sense for a man with no foreign policy experience whatsoever, but that doesn’t require massive rallies among people who aren’t voting in this election. In his rush to look impressive for no one’s purposes but his own, Obama has made himself look ignorant and arrogant all over again.Here, let 'ole Phib help out. There is a nice place in Berlin right between the Brandenburg Gate and the Siegessäule - it might work better with the Obama theme and is set in the beautiful Tiergarten. The Soviet War Memorial. What a great photo-op it will be.
Photoshop via Mrs. Salamander who wishes it to be know that this is a, ahem, "quick & dirty" and does not represent the actual quality photoshop quality work she can do if given the proper time. FbL and Maggie; no comments about my timing and my wife's timing not being in synch. None at all.
The Tiergarten Memorial is a beautiful peace of architecture, sure, but I can only imagine the sort of rage that would have come about if Obama actual gave a speech in front of it, with the giant coat of arms of the USSR in polished brass (bronze? steel?) overhead.
ReplyDeleteIt'd have been a crucification. They already have those signs with the hammer and sickle replacing the the 'O' in his name. Regardless of your political affiliation, I think you could say that would have been a bad idea.
Shame though. Much nicer venue.