MY INSTANTANEOUS REACTION TO OBAMA'S SPEECH

I was just reading the text of Obama's speech in Berlin.

Sadly, McCain just doesn't have what it takes to beat this guy, in my opinion.

The only hope is for Obama to be caught with a young boy or a dead woman.

By the way, if he means what he says in his speech, he won't be a bad President. He would probably be even better than Clinton. He would not be worse than Jimmy Carter.

Problem is, I don't think he means what he says.

One thing in his speech which is very powerful, and true (and I've been saying this on my blog for four years now) is that America needs Europe.

In Obama's speech he says, Europe must understand that America has sacrificed for their freedom and Europe is now taking on more responsibility for its freedom.

That, of course, isn't true, but it is a nice diplomatic way of saying, "Get up off your asses and do something, Euros."

Or, it could be Obama code meaning, "I'm going to pull all of our troops out of Europe and everywhere else in the world. No more American "hegemony"."

With Obama, who keeps close friends like William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, we just can't be sure what he means.

But, we can guess it's probably not so good for America.


By the way, here's what Obama said vis a vis America's partnership with Europe:

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 ...

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn
inward. America has no better partner than Europe.

These things are true, whether he really means them, or not.

The most obvious immediate criticism is that Obama seems to believe, and I mean really believe, that his "world" citizenship is as important as his American citizenship.

Another criticism is that Obama seems to envision himself as some sort of immaculate conception. He mentions none of the history of American Presidents and Berlin. Where is the gratitude to Reagan? (I've read bits of Obama's Audacity of Hope. As far as I can tell, Obama does not recognize anything positive in the legacy of Ronald Reagan.)

Obama speaks of "tearing down walls."

Where does he think that phrase came from? Pink Floyd?