Obama's speech in Germany

[Thor Henning]

At least 200,000 people heard Obama make the only public speech of his world tour. No US President has been this popular for a long time.

Most Germans believe that an Obama victory in November would do much to improve relations between the US and Europe.
This speech is being compared to those made in Berlin by John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan - but they were sitting presidents.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama seeks stronger Europe ties

[Pok-a-tok]

So Obama is off to France and GB as well. Impressive.

John McCain, visited a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio

[TeeZet]

Originally Posted by Pok-a-tok

So Obama is off to France and GB as well. Impressive.

[roni]

Originally Posted by Thor Henning

At least 200,000 people heard Obama make the only public speech of his world tour. No US President has been this popular for a long time.

Most Germans believe that an Obama victory in November would do much to improve relations between the US and Europe.
This speech is being compared to those made in Berlin by John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan - but they were sitting presidents.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama seeks stronger Europe ties

I lot of us Estado Unidenseses kinda like him also.

[JimmyMN]

He'll be much better than the last president!
He certainly couldn't be worse!!!

Jimmy

[jaybird]

And he started his speech with a lie:

“Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany,” Obama told the crowd to wild applause. "Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.”

He was there and speaking only because of the office he is seeking.

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by jaybird

And he started his speech with a lie:

“Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany,” Obama told the crowd to wild applause. "Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.”

He was there and speaking only because of the office he is seeking.

It is obviously not a lie.....is it a lie that you speak to call it a lie?

As a person of free will, he gets to choose you see...he is both a candidate for President and apparently also a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world....do you doubt that he is either?

These are all things he should be proud of...and we can be proud that one of our leaders is received so well in the countries of our friends and allies....why the sour grapes?

[Jacko]

Some truths excerpted from the speech...I am proud that an American spoke these words....Here

"A World that Stands as One"

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.

People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

...................................

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.


In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth – that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more – not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.
.....................................

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

...............................

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.



This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations – including my own – will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one. ..........................................

So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.

.......................................

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words “never again” in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?

......................................

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. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom – indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us – what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores – is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

.........................................

These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on the world.

People of Berlin – and people of the world – the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

[JEZ]

Great speech, really something special. Obama rocks!

[MaripositaII]

I'm glad he's looking at what happened in Germany i.e. the wall coming down, but I wonder when he plans to speak out against Israel's Apartheid wall?

But wait, the US is more interested in giving military aid to Israel and he's jumping on that bandwagon.

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

I'm glad he's looking at what happened in Germany i.e. the wall coming down, but I wonder when he plans to speak out against Israel's Apartheid wall?

But wait, the US is more interested in giving military aid to Israel and he's jumping on that bandwagon.

So you read his speech right? And this is all you have in response?
With all that he said,you have criticism about something that he did not say?

[Just Lucky]

This is the most important issue of the day. While I'm unhappy with some of Obama's stances concerning a withering away of the Constitution, I will be happy to vote for a man with this to say:

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

Video and speech here

[Just Lucky]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

I'm glad he's looking at what happened in Germany i.e. the wall coming down, but I wonder when he plans to speak out against Israel's Apartheid wall?

But wait, the US is more interested in giving military aid to Israel and he's jumping on that bandwagon.

Interesting you should say that on a day when the Jerusalem Post is proclaiming that Obama will cost the Democratic party the Jewish vote. And Haaretz has this to say:

WASHINGTON - In a predictable outburst of provincialism, the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, has become the fashionable darling of the Israeli left. Those who, during the years of George W. Bush's presidency, found themselves pushed to the margins of the arena are now pinning hopes on Obama - who, even if he wants to, will probably be unable to deliver the goods. Those who failed to convince the citizens of their own country are now putting their faith in an outsider, in the hope that he will force their agenda on it. In that, they are doubly mistaken: The American leadership was never the source of the problem, and even to the extent that it bore secondary responsibility for the spoke in the wheels of the peace process, it is not certain that Obama is the leader who will provide the solution.

Uncle Obama will take care of it - Haaretz - Israel News

Not an overly positive view of Obama from Israel is it?

[STOGEY]

I think he should be a citizen of the US. first not the world.

[MaripositaII]

Originally Posted by Jacko

So you read his speech right? And this is all you have in response?
With all that he said,you have criticism about something that he did not say?

Ooops. Wrong forum. Sorry. Meant for different discussion