Federal Republic of Germany

Let's contrast the recent visits of two American politicians to the Federal Republic of Germany ... First, here's a snapshot (courtesy of the Associated Press) of Barack Obama's speech in Berlin:

Second, a smaller image of the reception the President received when he landed in Germany (courtesy of Der Spiegel):

While not conclusive, I'd say, at least, anecdotally, that these two pictures, juxtaposed, represent (Old) Europe's preference in terms of which candidate, & more generally, which political party, they'd like to see (back) in power in Washington.

Now, I will say that, as a proud American, I don't bow to foreigners, nor do I like to be told what to think by those outside of this country. But it is important for America, as a leader in the world, to be respected & admired by our allies in Europe, & the notion that 200,000 mostly non-Americans were waving American Flags during Barack's speech simply takes my breath away, & should make us all think.

Also, I think the state of our relations with Europe, what I like to call the George W. Bush meets Michael Scott school of foreign policy ("Would I rather be feared or loved? Um ... Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."), is defunct, & perhaps we need to explore a more equal friendship with the major European powers (as well as the rest of the world).