Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Coach is Back! on November 09, 2009, 07:05:03 AM
-
The president does not plan to travel to Germany to attend the 20th anniversary celebration Monday of the fall of the Berlin Wall, drawing heated criticism from those who say he's ignoring a shining triumph of American-inspired democracy.
President Obama squeezed in a trip to Copenhagen last month to lobby, unsuccessfully, for Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. He plans to travel to Oslo next month to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award that even Obama has said he does not deserve. And this coming week, he sets out on a weeklong tour of Asia.
But the president does not plan to travel to Germany to attend the 20th anniversary celebration Monday of the fall of the Berlin Wall, drawing heated criticism from those who say he's ignoring a shining triumph of American-inspired democracy.
"A tragedy," is how former House Speaker Newt Gingrich described Obama's absence.
related links
*
Clinton: Berlin Wall Anniversary a Reminder of Threats
Some question whether the decision not to go was a nod to Russia, with which the Obama administration is trying to mend relations, or just another attempt to play down the perception of the United States as an exceptional superpower.
For its part, the administration is citing a scheduling conflict. The White House says the president simply does not have the time to go, with the trip to Asia starting Wednesday.
"Obviously we have a lot to work on here and we have commitments for an upcoming Asia trip," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that a "very senior delegation" of U.S. officials would attend.
That delegation is led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who traveled to Berlin Sunday ahead of the festivities -- the first stop for the secretary on a trip through Europe and Asia.
Obama acknowledged the anniversary of the fall of the wall last week during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We are now moving towards the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and Germany being reunified after so many painful years," Obama said. "And this is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it's like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany, how it has become the centerpiece for a extraordinarily strong European Union."
He said the U.S.-Germany alliance is an "extraordinary pillar of the transatlantic relationship."
But some saw Obama's decision not to travel personally to Berlin as a snub to Merkel, Germany and the history behind the anniversary.
"Barack Is Too Busy," Germany's Der Spiegel magazine declared in a headline last month, writing that Obama had declined Merkel's invitation.
While Obama has traveled to Germany since taking office, he has not as president traveled to Berlin -- the site of his major speech in July 2008 during his overseas campaign tour. During that speech, he acknowledged Berlin's struggle, saying, "This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom."
Why then, critics asked, would the U.S. president not revisit that site to mark the culmination of that dream? After all, he has established himself as an intrepid traveler in office, setting off on a slew of overseas trips during his first 10 months on the job.
On several of the stops he has expressed regret for past American behavior, but the Berlin Wall anniversary was seen as an opportunity for the president to honor an American and Western victory for which the U.S. need feel no regret.
"It is a true shame that the president of the United States -- this man who cloaks himself in the rhetoric of hope -- won't be pausing to remember," Gingrich wrote in a column last week in The Washington Examiner.
The National Review's Rich Lowry wrote that the decision speaks to Obama's "dismissive view of the Cold War as a relic distorting our thinking."
"John F. Kennedy famously told Berliners, 'Ich bin ein Berliner.' On the 20th anniversary of the last century's most stirring triumph of freedom, Obama is telling them, 'Ich bin beschaftigt' -- i.e., I'm busy," he wrote. "Obama's failure to go to Berlin is the most telling nonevent of his presidency. It's hard to imagine any other American president eschewing the occasion."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/08/obama-draws-criticism-sitting-berlin-wall-anniversary/
-
It is a true shame that the president of the United States -- this man who cloaks himself in the rhetoric of hope -- won't be pausing to remember," Gingrich wrote in a column last week in The Washington Examiner.
________________________ ________________________ _________________
He will go to Europe to accept a sham of a Nobel Prize, but not this?
Very telling.
-
If he did go, he would just draw criticism for going.
So no matter what he chooses to do, you are going to whine about it anyway. ::)
-
Why would he go?Why woyuld a communist celebrate the fall of communism?The falling of the Berlin wall is a bad thing in Obamas eyes.
-
If he did go, he would just draw criticism for going.
So no matter what he chooses to do, you are going to whine about it anyway. ::)
Yeah ok. He gopes to German to give a "I am a citizen of the world" speech, but not for this?
GMAFB.
-
I agree with Miminaugh!
-
I agree with Miminaugh!
I'm serious - He went to Germany to give his " I am a citizen of the World" speech, but not for the fall of communism. What does that tell you?
-
Berlin Wall blunder - It's not only shameful - but dangerous
New York Post ^ | November 09, 2009 | nypost
________________________ ________________________ ______________
Posted on Monday, November 09, 2009 11:13:33 AM by opentalk
World leaders past and present will be in Berlin today for the 20th an niversary of the fall of communist repression's most visible symbol: the 112-mile concrete wall that split the city for more than a quarter-century.
Conspicuously absent: the president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Obama's folks say he's too busy to accept German President Angela Merkel's invitation to attend today's festivities
It's pathetic that Obama won't be there -- and telling, as well.
After all, it was one of his own supposed heroes, President John F. Kennedy, who famously flew to Berlin in 1963 and denounced the wall as "an affront to history" when he memorably proclaimed to all the world: "Ich bin ein Berliner."
And it was another predecessor, Ronald Reagan, who even more famously stood before the heinous barrier and declared: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Less than two years later, the wall had tumbled.
But, then, Reagan -- like JFK -- viewed the Cold War as a defining battle between freedom and oppressive totalitarianism. And it was a war, he said, that the West, led by America, had to win.
...For Obama, America is but one nation among many, no different -- or more exceptional -- than any other. Its record is one that, increasingly, he has felt compelled not to extol but to apologize for.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
-
If he did go, he would just draw criticism for going.
So no matter what he chooses to do, you are going to whine about it anyway. ::)
that was my first thought too.
-
that was my first thought too.
Come on Straw - you dont see this as strange? Even Bill Clinton, Hillary, Kerry, would have went.
-
Once again,why would a communist celebrate the fall of communism?
-
Come on Straw - you dont see this as strange? Even Bill Clinton, Hillary, Kerry, would have went.
how do you know what Hillary, Kerry, etc.. would have done
I do feel pretty certain that if he went you would have started ten threads using ALL CAPS criticizing him for going
-
www.telegraph.co.uk
Nile Gardiner is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. He appears frequently on American and British television and radio, including Fox News Channel, CNN, BBC, Sky News, and NPR. Barack Obama’s shameful absence from Berlin: Four Key Reasons why the President stayed away
By Nile Gardiner World Last updated: November 9th, 2009
1 Comment Comment on this article
Barack Obama was quick off the mark last year in heading for Berlin during his election campaign, when he was cheered by a crowd of 200,000 adoring Germans. Yet as president of the United States he has decided to stay away from Berlin as the city commemorates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In contrast, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have both made the trip to Germany, while Obama has decided to send his Secretary of State.
It is shameful when the US president can’t even be bothered to show up at a ceremony marking one of the most momentous events of modern times. As Rich Lowry wrote in his column for National Review, “Obama’s failure to go to Berlin is the most telling nonevent of his presidency.” Newt Gingrich put it well when he described Obama’s foolhardy decision as “a tragedy”. Writing in The Washington Examiner, Gingrich declared:
“To commemorate, after all, is to remember. And Americans need to remember, not just that the Wall fell, but why it fell. We need to remember that the Berlin Wall was the symbol of more than just the Cold War, more than just the division of Europe. It was the symbol of an evil ideology that denied human dignity, denied truth, and respected only power. When the Wall fell, truth and human dignity, in a rare moment in the 20th century, triumphed over power. But that victory is not permanent.”
In my view, Barack Obama’s absence from Berlin today can be explained by four key factors:
1/ Obama is uncomfortable with the idea of American greatness
The fall of the Berlin Wall was the direct result of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher’s determination to confront and defeat Soviet communism. Obama is distinctly uncomfortable with the notion of celebrating the successes of American global power. Practically every speech he has given on foreign soil since taking office has been marked by an apology or apologies for America’s past. A recognition of American leadership, especially an acknowledgement of Ronald Reagan’s leadership, would have been an awkward moment for a US president who seems ashamed of American greatness and exceptionalism.
2/ Obama attaches little importance to the advancement of human rights on the world stage
The Wall’s downfall symbolized the defeat of a brutal ideology, Communism, that enslaved hundreds of millions in Europe. It marked the end of a dictatorial regime in East Germany that oppressed its own people under the auspices of an evil Empire. Barack Obama simply does not view the world as Reagan did, in terms of good versus evil, as a world divided between the forces of freedom on one side and totalitarianism on the other. For the Obama administration the advancement of human rights and individual liberty on the world stage is a distinctly low priority, as we have seen with its engagement strategy towards the likes of Iran, Burma, Sudan, Venezuela and Russia.
3/ Obama cares little about the transatlantic alliance
Obama has paid less attention to the transatlantic alliance than any US president since the Second World War. With the exception of Russia, relations with Europe appear to be of only passing interest to Obama, as is the NATO alliance, unless it involves matters of European integration. The only European issue that seems to energize the Obama administration is the EU’s drive to create a federal European superstate, which is enthusiastically supported by Washington despite the threat it poses to US interests.
4/ Obama is keen to appease Russia
The Obama administration has gone to great lengths to avoid doing anything to offend the Russians, as part of its “reset” strategy. This was exemplified by its monumental surrender to Moscow by reversing the American policy of installing Third Site missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic. In effect, Obama threw key US allies in eastern and central Europe under the bus in order to placate Russian demands. The White House no doubt calculated that Obama’s presence in Berlin would be interpreted by hawks in Russia as provocative triumphalism on the part of the Americans. Embarrassingly for Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev actually showed up at the Berlin celebrations, while the leader of the free world was nowhere to be seen.
The striking absence of the leader of the most powerful nation on the face of the earth from ceremonies marking the fall of the Berlin Wall is yet another damning indictment of Barack Obama’s world leadership, or lack of it. The United States is currently faced with an array of challenges as great as those confronted by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, from the war in Afghanistan and the global fight against Islamist terrorism, to the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran.
America today badly needs Reagan’s vision of forceful US leadership if it is to remain as the world’s dominant power. Instead its position is being rapidly undermined by a foreign policy of weakness and indecision, one that will only strengthen the hand of its enemies.
Tags: Barack Obama, Berlin Wall, missile defence, Newt Gingrich, Ronald Reagan
-
how do you know what Hillary, Kerry, etc.. would have done
I do feel pretty certain that if he went you would have started ten threads using ALL CAPS criticizing him for going
Hillary is there.
-
Hillary is there.
fyi - she's Secretary of State
this is exactly the kind of thing you'd expect her to be attending
-
fyi - she's Secretary of State
this is exactly the kind of thing you'd expect her to be attending
Hillary does not loathe this country and stands up for it on the intnl stage.
-
Obama Draws Criticism for Sitting Out Berlin Wall Anniversary everything, yes even your loud neighbor, it's Obama's fault.
fixed.
-
fixed.
Cool. Can I blame him for the diaraeha I had last night?
-
Cool. Can I blame him for the diaraeha I had last night?
WTF is wrong with you... Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less of you.
-
WTF is wrong with you... Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less of you.
Ha ha. That was my first thought too. ;D
-
Cool. Can I blame him for the diaraeha I had last night?
of course YOU can
you blame him for everything else so why not?
BTW - that article by Gardiner is a joke
-
fixed.
No,its Buss' fault,according to Obama.
-
of course YOU can
you blame him for everything else so why not?
BTW - that article by Gardiner is a joke
What part of it?
-
What part of it?
points 1 thru 4 but most especially # 2 and #3 (I seriously thought this article was a joke from the Onion at first glance)
-
points 1 thru 4 but most especially # 2 and #3 (I seriously thought this article was a joke from the Onion at first glance)
-
No,its Buss' fault,according to Obama.
It's just wong to blame the buss. The buss didn't do nuttin to us bros >:(
-
It's just wong to blame the buss. The buss didn't do nuttin to us bros >:(
You know what I meant.According to your hero,Bush is responsible for even global warming,the economy,911,Barney Frank being gay,Gates etc.Its all George Bushs' fault.Even Obama marrying a pre-op tranny is because of Bush.
-
he'd be shat upon no matter what.
Imagine if he's overseas celebrating an anniversary in Europe... instead of addressing the rising unemployment and aftermatho f the horrible Ft Hood shooting.
Face it, Rush and other radio friends knew from minute 1 that they were gonna crap on him no matter what, for this. Skip it, and you have no love for democracy. Attend and get heat for neglecting duties at home. Some ppl bitch about everything, we know that.
-
he'd be shat upon no matter what.
Imagine if he's overseas celebrating an anniversary in Europe... instead of addressing the rising unemployment and aftermatho f the horrible Ft Hood shooting.
Face it, Rush and other radio friends knew from minute 1 that they were gonna crap on him no matter what, for this. Skip it, and you have no love for democracy. Attend and get heat for neglecting duties at home. Some ppl bitch about everything, we know that.
Funny,he didnt worry about that when he went to get Chicago the Olympics.Things were exactly the same minus the shooting.
-
he'd be shat upon no matter what.
Imagine if he's overseas celebrating an anniversary in Europe... instead of addressing the rising unemployment and aftermatho f the horrible Ft Hood shooting.
Face it, Rush and other radio friends knew from minute 1 that they were gonna crap on him no matter what, for this. Skip it, and you have no love for democracy. Attend and get heat for neglecting duties at home. Some ppl bitch about everything, we know that.
He is doing nothing on both fronts.
-
Funny,he didnt worry about that when he went to get Chicago the Olympics.Things were exactly the same minus the shooting.
you made my point.
prez leaves his country when he can.
there wasn't a major army shooting that week he went to get the olympics, so he went.
seriously, you dont make a lot of sense here.
-
how do you know what Hillary, Kerry, etc.. would have done
I do feel pretty certain that if he went you would have started ten threads using ALL CAPS criticizing him for going
HAHAHAHAA @all caps..
New thread 333386
MANY SAY OBAMA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRASH OF THE TITANIC
Obama has taken a boat ride before...the titanic was a boat....dont you find it strange???
-
you made my point.
prez leaves his country when he can.
there wasn't a major army shooting that week he went to get the olympics, so he went.
seriously, you dont make a lot of sense here.
What in the world is Obama doing about the shooting?Its over.He read the teleprompter and that was that.In fact,he spoke FAR more about the health care bill then he spent on the shooting.
Incredibly,he had no problem jumping to conclusions about the Gates case,but here,we have a radical muslim who yells ALAH AKBAR and Obama says "dont jump to conclusions".Thats a joke!He gave a taped messege today,he spoke of himself and NEVER mentioned Reagan once.The guy that was 100% the reason for the tearing down of the wall and Obama doesnt mention him,BUT he does speak of himself.Incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
So I guess it was just coincedence he was able to go to Copenhagen just at that time!!
-
What in the world is Obama doing about the shooting?Its over.He read the teleprompter and that was that.
Right. And if anyone knows Obama's daily briefings and schedule regarding this shooting issue, it's you.
-
Right. And if anyone knows Obama's daily briefings and schedule regarding this shooting issue, it's you.
This is an important anniversary, and in my opinion he should have attended. The fall of the berlin wall the iron curtain was a world shaping event
-
Ummm - who cares? I mean he isn't German is he?
-
Ummm - who cares? I mean he isn't German is he?
This is about a hell of a lot more than Berlin\Germany. Its about freeing an untold amount of people from Soviet iron handed rule.
-
This is about a hell of a lot more than Berlin\Germany. Its about freeing an untold amount of people from Soviet iron handed rule.
No - it's really a non-issue, I mean not all of the soviet countries were freed at the same time so why pick one Eastern Block country over another. Besides I'm sure he has more important things to do.
-
biden said obama had a steel spine...
obama refuses to attend the falling of the berlin wall anniversary..
YOU do the math ;)
-
biden said obama had a steel spine...
obama refuses to attend the falling of the berlin wall anniversary..
YOU do the math ;)
2 + 2 = 5
Yes, that's right he must be Stalin re-incarnated - how could I have missed this?
-
No - it's really a non-issue, I mean not all of the soviet countries were freed at the same time so why pick one Eastern Block country over another. Besides I'm sure he has more important things to do.
Ok, the fall of communism and oppression of the eastern european people is a non issue ::)
Yeah the POTUS always has more important things to do except when it comes to the Olympics or jetting off to date night somewhere in the world, he has time for the really important things
-
Ok, the fall of communism and oppression of the eastern european people is a non issue ::)
Yeah the POTUS always has more important things to do except when it comes to the Olympics or jetting off to date night somewhere in the world, he has time for the really important things
Read what I said not what you think I said. Obama going to the anniversary or not is a non-issue. The Olympics would have been good for the local economy. You don't like Obama that is why you are paying out on him. If Bush had done the same we would've heard crickets.
-
Obama aside. The Wall event was an absolutely incredible thing. I still have memories of those months. It was crazy. Crazy wonderful.
I remember how we all were just waiting for reports of Soviet coming down hard on the break away nations. But they never did. Visited Prague a few years later. It was only a few months after Clinton had been there. In fact i ended up in a jazz club that it turned out Bill had been playing the sax in a few months earlier. Very special kind of atmosphere at the time
-
(http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/europe/images/eastsidegallery01.jpg)
-
This is an important anniversary, and in my opinion he should have attended. The fall of the berlin wall the iron curtain was a world shaping event
1) What other world leaders attended?
2) To the average American, was it more important than US troops getting killed and 10.2% unemployment?
-
This is the nail in the coffin for me concerning Obama and his supposed love for this country. I am very disturbed and troubled by this. When we saw previews and pieces of evidence of this early in the primary campaigns, (being the only one not to put his hand on his heart during the Star Spangled Banner) I took all of that with a grain of salt. I had already been criticising him for his views and knew they would be disasterous for this country. But this is particularly disturbing.
-
1) What other world leaders attended?
2) To the average American, was it more important than US troops getting killed and 10.2% unemployment?
Hey moron: The Berlin wall celebration was scheduled before the shooting happened and he never planed on going either way.
As far as 10.2% UE - its his economy now and he has done enough damage to where blaming Bush is getting very old. By his own definitions on UE, he is a failure.
With regard to the memorial service, he has to go and has to do damage control for his disgusting press conference giving shout outs to people who did not even get the medals he claimed they did.
-
I'm no Obama fan, but Bush senior did not attend the celebrations either when the wall fell, and he too was criticized for it. But Gorbachev thanked him for not attending, for not bragging and angering or humiliating the Russian conservatives who wanted the old Soviet Union to live on. That was the reason Bush did not attend.
Obama is not going to attend the anniversary celebrations probably for the same reasons, for the sake of American and Russian relations. The Soviet Union lost. There is no need for America to rub it in there face too.
-
I'm no Obama fan, but Bush senior did not attend the celebrations either when the wall fell, and he too was criticized for it. But Gorbachev thanked him for not attending, for not bragging and angering or humiliating the Russian conservatives who wanted the old Soviet Union to live on. That was the reason Bush did not attend.
Obama is not going to attend the anniversary celebrations probably for the same reasons, for the sake of American and Russian relations. The Soviet Union lost. There is no need for America to rub it in there face too.
LOL
You have one ass long memory. 8)
I had completely forgotten about that one.
I always thought Bush Sr was a good example of what a politician should be like.
Technocrat, dull, not very flashy.
Never mind his ties to dirty business with the CIA.
But his personality, like John Kerry's, is what I prefer 8 days a week over a Tony Blair, an Obama or a Clinton.
Or the "communicator" ::) Reagan.
-
LOL
You have one ass long memory. 8)
I had completely forgotten about that one.
I always thought Bush Sr was a good example of what a politician should be like.
Technocrat, dull, not very flashy.
Never mind his ties to dirty business with the CIA.
But his personality, like John Kerry's, is what I prefer 8 days a week over a Tony Blair, an Obama or a Clinton.
Or the "communicator" ::) Reagan.
HEY HEDGE - THE GIPPER IS LISTENING!
-
HEY HEDGE - THE GIPPER IS LISTENING!
Shouldn't it be - "Don't make me come up there" ;)
j/k
RIP Ronnie.