On President Obama's current visit to Germany, he has found the place to be somewhat less welcoming than on a previous visit during his 2008 candidacy. As the New York Times reports, instead of the 200,000 people who attended his speech back then, only about 5,000 showed up for his appearance today, which was by invitation only. At Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing in the Berlin Wall that has been the site for other speeches by American presidents, protesters showed up with signs parodying Obama's 2008 campaign slogan.
Read more at the Global Post, The Atlantic and Reuters.
What people forget is back in 2008 over 200,000 people DID NOT come to hear Obama speak. They came for a free Rock Concert and he was sandwiched between 2 acts.
ReplyDeleteOn his own in Europe in 2008 he couldn't have gotten 1,000 people to come hear him speak.