I am a little late on this, but apparently the President made it to Berlin after all – sort of. Instead of actually showing up, and having all the hassle of standing in the rain and having to wait his turn to talk and all that, President Obama made a video address to those at the Brandenburg Gate on Monday. What struck me about his talk was this part:
"Few would have foreseen ... that a united Germany would be led by a woman from Brandenburg or that their American ally would be led by a man of African descent. But human destiny is what human beings make of it."
I was fascinated by the way the President was able to bring himself into even a talk about the opening of the Berlin Wall.
George Will noted the same thing in connection with the President’s speech in Copenhagen back in October in support of Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics:
"The President and First Lady went to Copenhagen and gave little speeches about themselves. She, Mrs. Obama, used the first-person singular pronoun in some form or another, ‘I’ or ‘me’, sixteen, 34 times in sixteen paragraphs. He used it 23 times in thirteen paragraphs. It was all about them, and the danger is an adjective sooner or later attaches to presidents. Honest Abe, Tricky Dick Nixon. All kinds of adjectives. The danger to the President is that Vain is going to attach to him."
Which brings me to the theme song of the Obama administration – or at least President Obama: Carly Simon – "You’re So Vain":
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Note: I can’t take full credit for this idea. James Taranto at "Best of the Web Today" pointed me to the excerpt from President Obama’s video address in Berlin. Tom Maguire at "JustOneMinute" pointed me to the George Will quote and to the title "You're So Vain." I will take credit, however, for putting the thought together with Carly Simon’s song.
Update (11/12/09 7:30 a.m.): Corrected the title of the Tom Maguire post.
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