At first I thought it was a joke. But then I had to realize he really means it. Barack Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate. The same place where Ronald Reagan said his famous: “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! “ A sentence I suppose Obama would never ever have said.
And after all, he is just a presidential candidate, yes, a CANIDATE! Not a sitting president. And he wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate? That is pure megalomania. I am glad that Angela Merkel found appropriate (a little more diplomatic than mine ;-) words to describe her unease:
Merkel has “only limited understanding for using the Brandenburg Gate as an election campaign backdrop, as it were, and has expressed skepticism about pursuing such plans,” Thomas Steg, a spokesman for the chancellor, told reporters.
Steg noted that the Brandenburg Gate has become “a place with a particular exclusivity, intensity and symbolism” in view of past speeches by sitting U.S. presidents and events such as a large rally in solidarity with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
As a result, he said Merkel has voiced “great skepticism as to whether it is appropriate to bring an election campaign being fought not in Germany but in the United States to the Brandenburg Gate.”
“Merkel uneasy over Obama Brandenburg Gate address” by Geir Moulson, Townhall, July 09, 2008
Update July 12, 2008: I am just reading in today`s BILD (page 1) that Obama is not going to deliver a speech at the Brandenburg Gate.
US-Präsidentschaftskandidat Barack Obama wird bei seinem Berlin-Besuch am 24. Juli definitiv nicht am Brandenburger Tor sprechen. Das haben Obama-Berater der Bundesregierung nach BILD-Informationen zugesichert.