Debate Over Germany Trip Leaves Team Obama Frustrated

nice. looking forward to this. Obamamania in Europe, and around the world, is quite a phenomenon. from all angles, the U.S. presidential election is really a no-contest.

~C

Albert,

A comment on the blog in general. I like a lot of the content, so I plan to keep coming back, but I get confused as to which parts are the articles and which are your commentary.

On the topic, I was recently in Finland and attended a rock festival at which Common, a famous American rapper, performed. There were American flags in the crowd and lots of cheers when Common mentioned Obama. I very much doubt, however, that the election will be “no-contest”. Europeans are excited about Obama for different reasons than Americans should be. For Europeans, who are dealing with their own resurgence of xenophobia, Obama represents not only a redemption of the United States, but a sign that the civilized world can survive even as it is assailed by racism in nations that formerly led on tolerance.

That Obama is black, eloquent and well-received by Americans is enough to make him inspirational to Europeans (and probably to most Americans), but Europeans have no need to examine the majority of Obama's policy or his credentials as a leader and manager. Their qualifications for the Presidency are not nearly as robust as those urged by Americans.

Thanks Albert.
It's tell-taling that Spiegel first goes deeply into some frustrations that seem to exist - and how childish (not wanting to put down children here!) that is in many places.

And John, I really wonder where you get the impression of a resurgence of xenophobia from. It's been a very constant datum all over Europe: about 20% of the population of all European countries are xenophobic - sometimes this surfaces with parties adequate to that clientele making a lot of noise.
Conflicts easily are subverted along lines of populaces, take Belgium, for instance, where the Vlamish and Wallonian are seriously at each others throat (not a question of race but of language there). An old tribal impulse, I'd say.
No resurgence - just waves in the media…

Looking forward to hear what Obama has to say in front of the “Siegessäule” - which, by the way is also the name of a free newspaper of the gay community in Berlin
“Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian war, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873 Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871), giving the statue a new purpose.” (Wikipedia).
So it's an interesting symbolism going on there - for people who are sensitive to that kind of thing…

today's the big day. i'm waiting for the live video feed of Obama's speech. man! it's like Obamapalooza in Berlin! http://bit.ly/15JuyS

John is right, this is far from a no-contest, which is, i think is the mystery here. i've been following the campaigns of both candidates. i have my bias, of course, but based on my own judgment and political brain, this is starting to look like a no-contest. not only because Obama has a much better appeal, charisma, eloquence, story, and yes, hype, but also, more importantly, because his geopolitical, domestic, economic, energy policies are better than McCain's. case in point: Republican benefactor, T. Boone Pickens energy plan.

on top of it, McCain just keeps on nuking the fridge and sabotaging himself in front of the media.

taking all those into consideration (including Obama's favorable rating worldwide), it's a mystery to me why this is still a close race, according to the polls.

that said, i don't view Obama as any kind of saviour. he's a politician. he's intelligent. he knows how to play the game. he's excellent at it. Team Obama is a kick-ass campaign machine (he has a cast of 300 advisers on foreign policy alone).

simply put, between Obama and McCain, it's clear to me who would make the better President, domestically, and internationally.

my two cents.

~C

well, it looks like Obama's speech is important (or at least interesting) to a lot of Germans as well. it's like Obamapalooza out there! i'm watching it LIVE here - http://bit.ly/1QMxZZ

~C

Albert,

Thanks for the clarification, Albert. In some of the posts, the font style changes, which I assumed meant a new article was being presented, but sometimes it felt like there was some transition between the two. Anyway….

The emergence of a non-polar order (assuming that you mean it in the same was Haass described recently in Foreign Affairs) presents similar challenges to America and Europe. The preservation of a world dominated by democratic, liberal values will depend in large part on Europe and America's ability to co-operate in addressing the BRIC nations. The world's current powers need to convince the world's ascendent powers that engaging and growing to prominence in the international community is easier to do by participation in multi-lateral organizations that support Western norms. I

'm sure the idea of the Clash of Civilizations turns some stomachs, but there is truth to the idea that in a non-polar world, champions of democracy and liberalism will need to exert influence against those who abide tyranny.

Mushin,

I come by my impression of a resurgence of European xenophobia from many places. Perhaps the most persuasive is the increase in elected officials in Europe who ran on xenophobic platforms. In some cases (such as Sweden), that number has moved from none to a negligable minority. In other places (such as Holland and Switzerland), the success of parties with xenophobic platforms is more pronounced. Switzerland's UDC, which ran the infamous Bye-bye Black Sheep Ads, captured nearly 25% of the vote.

Further, even politicians who ran without xenophobic policies have lately championed them. Silvio Berlusconi's recent speeches about Roma minorities constitute one example. Sarkozy's reversal on economic protectionism (which he used to oppose) and increased rancor toward Turkey joining the EU (on cultural as well as economic grounds) show that even some respectable politicians find it hard to resist appealing to nationalism for popularity.

I'm not sure where your data comes from, but polling people about whether or not they are racist makes little sense. The fact is that political influence in many European nations is shifting in observable ways toward intolernce. That sparks debate among tolerant Europeans who wonder if the ideals of post-racism can really survive in Europe. That concern gives Obama an aspirational allure which is unrelated to his ability to govern. That allure is enough to convince many Europeans that he ought to be President, but it should not suffice for Americans who will be governed by his policies.

allow me to inject some humor into this conversation. Stephen Colbert suggests that the U.S. join the European Union :)

~C

the video is now up on Youtube. added it as an update to my blog. see also this awesome photo. the best thing the McCain campaign can do? well, nothing, except to sourgrape about it. can't blame them. this is a tough act to follow.

~C

Hi John,

wow - I can only humbly bow to your statistics. When I read it it gives me the idea that I live in a different Europe.
I was born a Bavarian, moved around in Germany in my first 11 years 10 times, and then grew up in Amsterdam, Holland, and then again moved around a lot in my hippie years until in '83 came to live in (West-)Berlin where I live until now, with a 'break' in the Czech Rep. between 02 and 07.
All I can offer is what I see happening around me in my anecdotal 'real life' - I'm a father of a 22 year old young man and a 14 year old step daughter. And because my Dad was a in the resistance in WW2, and a communist and now, in his old age, an anarchist, my whole life has always been full of politics - but obviously rarely main-stream.

So when you say, what you do about xenophobic politics and their agenda, I spontaneously start thinking about the waxing and waning of publically discussed and celebrated xenophobia – I remember how, when I was young and happened to be on vacation in Germany, people where into communist-phobia; maybe also a variant of that ancient disease that is suffered by (and that's my educated guess) around 20% of people: “phobia” of the political kind; a disease that probably grows on the “it's somebody elses' fault” soil. So forgive me a wry smile when I read your list of arguments which are absolutely valid, but not so very relevant in the lives that I personally come in closer contact with. In the last 45 years of my 53 years
I have been discriminated against by my own kin, by people of different complexion, by the other sex, by my own sex, by communists, by christians, by many other ideologies, by religious people, and I can go on and on and on. So when you belong to a minority chances are that you'll be suffering some kind of discrimination. There is different gradations to this - I've been molested; something minor when compared with those that where killed for what they where thought to be, something major when compared to people who got a nasty look over.

But, hey, this is life! We are just starting to - hopefully - become civilized.
Which is why I feel us Europeans should more positively, even evangelically dream our dream. And maybe Obama is our man: if he's got the right kind of tough love for us, he'll encourage us, and maybe he'll even become a world leader of the change we need to see on this planet. He's got the talent and the charisma…

Now please don't misunderstand me when I put anecdotal arguments against your much more influential - as far as media go - ones. But let's look at this: Xenophobia would have been unthinkable in Eastern Germany some 25 years ago, at least as a political platform. But then one of these xenophobic platforms made it into Saxonia's parliamant some 4, 5 years ago; once these platforms enter the political sphere it soon shows that they have only one answer to all challenges that we are facing, and their politics turn out to be so unintelligent that the “phobia” sufferers diffuse again into other parties - and some of them radicalize. So what?

What about this: We live in times where some of the unintelligent parties and their narcisstic leaders try a nationalistic and xenophobic platform. That happened in quite a few of the former Eastbloc countries. And you know what? Most of them are now part of the European Union. So much for the success of the xenophobic agenda…

The US took it upon themselves to go ahaed with an unintelligent agenda for the last 8 years, the consequences of these politics are obvious. So instead of pointing a finger at the xenophobic tendencies in Europe - which are a pretty stable but less and less influential force in European politics in the last decades - what about being amazed how an overwhelming majority in Europe embraces Obama.

200.000 people came to listen to the man in Berlin! I bet you that no European leader or even world leader would cause so many people here to go out and listen to her or him - the only one that could maybe get that much would be the Dalai Lama. Actually Gorbatchev comes to mind - he would have brought that many people together… (or has he? I don't remember that, though)

So maybe this has put your remarks about xenophobic attractiveness in Europe in a different light. It has, at least, been my goal to sketch some other, I believe more powerful influences on the European Zeitgeist. Actually, Colbert's suggestion points in a wonderful direction: What about a North Atlantic CommonSense? We are very closely connected culturally… Obama as a president would be (for a while at least) an inspiration; maybe he would even inspire us to finally dream the European Dream of a pluralistic, tolerant, creative civilization whose mission is to co-create a rule of equality before the law, freedom of speech, organisation and enterprise, where the realisation of the 8 Millenium Develeopment Goals and future points on humanity's agenda becomes a necessity that engages us more than the points of contention, division, separation, fear and conflict.

I just see in the news that it were more than 200.000 - and the biggest crowd Obama ever spoke to. Now how is that?

I wonder if we should be having this conversation somewhere other than Albert's blog…

Anyway, in case I've been unclear, I want to stress a couple of points.

First, when I say that xenophobia and racism are resurgent in Europe, by no means do I argue that Europe is becoming wholly racist. It's hardly surprising, given the extreme immigration to Europe in recent times, that people who have xenophobic fears have felt more comfortable organizing recently and that some number of people who were not formerly xenophobic are persuaded to it now. The struggle between tolerance and intolerance is a see-saw. Some civil liberties for some groups are in peril in Europe, but plenty of Europeans are concerned for those losses and will fight back. You need to fight back.

I very much appreciate your anecdotal arguments, because they prove something I believe: no nation is a monolith. There are as many European attitudes toward racism as there are Europeans. I don't know any European racists, either (even though I have lived in Europe and married a European woman). The Europeans I know are all tolerant and compassionate. But that's partly because I don't associate with racists. They exist. Racists are part of every culture, and they gain strength at varying times. Europe will have to deal with its immigration challenge.

Second, when I suggest that Obama provides this specific (but influential) group of Europeans an aspirational figure, I don't mean to disparage that feeling. I think it's fantastic that someone from my country inspires those around the world. Further, it's totally normal to look at people and events in a foreign context and simplify them into symbols. Plenty of Americans see events in Europe and react with either haughty displeasure (“that would never happen in America!”) or awestruck inspiration (“why we can't we be more like Europe?). It is really hard, if not impossible, to look at a person or event (like Obama or Guantanamo Bay) through the eyes of a 'native'. Nor should you. Obama's policy on health care doesn't affect you, so feel free to support his inspirational presence! That statement is meant only to explain why a European looking in would feel the race will be a landslide or easy victory.

It's been pleasure talking with you, by the way.

Hi John, my guess is that Albert won't mind if we go a bit deeper here - that right, Albert?

I have actually interacted with racists some 10 years ago for some days in one of the crypto-facist congresses, and it was an very enlightening experience. I learnt: Don't let yourself be provoked, instead go with them a couple of miles down the road of their arguments and keep asking, “So imagine, there are no more foreigners here - who will bake our pizzas, make our falafels and borcht?” And similar simple questions. Just be open and think their thoughts through to it's consequences. They're not used to be taken serious, so they do not feel the need to look at their propositions and what they would mean in real life. It's just another religion that doesn't keep its salvatory promises. But we 'agnostics' have to guide them there…

And yes, we have to deal with the immigration pressures from Africa most of all, but also from the former Soviet Union (there is around 200.000 Russians living in Berlin) and other parts of the world. And we have to find and implement a far sighted policy; I very much agree. And unlike the US we cannot build fences in the Meditarranean or the Atlantic Ocean.

I understand that Obama has a difficult time in the US, and the race is far from over. But here in Berlin he has stolen my heart :-) And I don't understand why people say he has not said much - I really liked the broad outline of what his politics looks like at this moment in time.

And it's a pleasure to have met you here.

hey guys, just saw video interviews of Germans about their reactions to Barack Obama via Atlantic Community.

“The majority of Germans support Barrack Obama for the US presidency, not because they believe he will radically change US policy, but because he is expected to return it to the familiar pre-Bush trajectory.”

exactly! :)

~C

baby steps, Albert. baby steps :)

~C