Predictions: How the German Media will React to an Obama Victory

With the election imminent, it now appears that an Obama presidency is more likely than unlikely. That being the case, we would like to offer a few predictions as to how many in German media and society will react. We actually believe that these reactions will all play out to one degree or another:

Reaction One - Condescending Euphoria 

The American "friends" have reformed themselves and deserve another chance. We in the German media elite can now (temporarily at least) welcome the United States back into the fold of civilized nations despite the nearly unforgivable actions of the past eight years. We love the fact that the United States has elected its first minority head of state (though we would never dream of doing so ourselves). After we gloat a little more about the demise of Bush and engage in a round of "told you so" on how right we were to oppose his every move - we will push for Obama to sign Kyoto, close Guantanamo, abolish the death penalty and quickly exit Iraq. Obama must consult with us and go through the United Nations before taking any military action. This would vindicate our worldview and assuage our anger at America's many transgressions over the past eight years. Should Obama not do any or all of the above, we reserve the right to once again treat the United States as the World Scapegoat and depict Obama as the head of a mad-rogue cowboy nation.

Analysis: The initial euphoria of an Obama victory and Republican defeat will lead some to predict a bold new era of happiness in transatlantic relations. These predictions will gradually be worn to a cool realism/cynicism by geopolitical realities which will inevitably manifest themselves through differences over trade, the use of force in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East, the unwillingness of even the Democrats to go along with Kyoto, etc. Obama may remain quite popular as a personality in the German media. The Republicans - despite their reduced role - will continue to act as foils and receive blame for all that goes wrong. The refrain that what Bush has broken will take time to fix may well grow to become a reflexive defense for some time to come among those who insist on clinging to their own initial euphoria.   

Reaction Two - Cynicism

Obama's election is a hopeful sign - but the United States remains a fundamentally "other" nation. We will pay lip-service to the progressive direction that the United States has embarked upon - which increasingly mirrors our own. That - however - does not change the fact that the United States is a fundamentally backward nation that will remain dominated by the primitive instincts of predatory capitalism, oppression of the weak, religious bigotry and a tendency towards uncontrolled violence. Even if Obama is everything that we hope him to be (and he probably isn't) - he will inevitably be constrained by the society in which he exists and by the vile Republicans who oppose him. We will continue to blame the United States for most of the world's ills - albeit with an initially more restrained tone - and wait until Obama confirms our views of the United States by launching any military action or repeatedly compromising on issues that matter to us such as the death penalty, environment, gun laws, etc.

Analysis: Cynicism and pessimism remain core reflexes among much of the German intellectual elite. This sector of the German media has already concluded that it will inevitably be disappointed with Obama and - to spare itself the embarrassment and emotional roller-coaster of Obama euphoria - has concluded that the United States will not fundamentally change course. They will correctly point to the fact that Obama has profited from a confluence of factors such as war-fatigue, economic downturn, Bush-fatigue, etc. and conclude that these circumstances - and not a fundamental change in American societal attitudes - are what led to Obama's victory. This view offers adherents the obvious advantage of being able to play the profitable Hate-America card at any time. 

Reaction Three - Let's Feel Better 

Obama wins and now the hip people in Germany can finally feel better and get off the anger streak towards the United States - a country that produces lots of stuff we think is cool like iPods, hip-hop, Blackberries and Lionel Ritchie. Obama may not do everything we Hope - but we are pretty tired of bashing the United States and it's time for Change. Feeling better makes us feel good - so we are going to just do it - even though nothing much is going to change except for our feelings - which are pretty important. Now that Bush is gone - we will need to find a new super-villain to feel bad about - which makes us insecure about making sure we pick the right bad guy...(and maybe Bono can help us out here...) The tone makes the music and all that - so we are kinda friends again with the United States until the Republicans come back. By the way - we still won't give you any more troops for Afghanistan and we expect you to help us save the trees and polar bears. We will write plenty of angry letters to bad people with you if that's what floats your boat...   

Analysis: The less serious bubble-gum tabloid media is likely to revel in the ongoing feel-good Obama-mania. On a societal level, these are - to a large extent - the folks who turned out for the Obama speech in Berlin. For Americans living in or visiting Germany, this may translate into fewer close encounters of the Hate-America kind in certain bars, taxis and social gatherings. The trendy types will have to drop Hate-Bush for some other cause-celeb and pick up a new ultra villain to rail against. This in itself may lead to some angst and uncertainty.  

Reaction Four - America in Cultural Decline

Obama is hopelessly inexperienced and thoroughly represents the fleeting and superficial nature of American society - which will follow slogans, glitz and glamor in any direction. The election of this non-European is simply a confirmation of America's slow descent into mediocrity. Bush was bad - but Obama will be equally bad if not worse - and may threaten our business and trade interests if he gets too protectionist.

Analysis: Some in the culturally conservative German elite (and perhaps some on the far-far-left) will see the election of Obama as a sign that the United States continues to deteriorate culturally. Though they will not (often) openly express their racial views, they will depict Obama's election as a sign that the United States is slowly becoming a Third World nation increasingly dominated by a combination of non-European (and in their view inherently inferior) influences and superficial bumper-sticker politics. This will not manifest itself in most mainstream German media, but will be hinted at on the fringes. 

Reaction Five - What Do You Think?

Now that we have put four potential reactions out there - we would like to know what you - our readers - think. Are these four scenarios on the mark? Are some more accurate than others? Are we missing something? What are your thoughts?

UPDATE: More than one publication has already posted a list of Europe's demands and expectations now that Obama has been declared the winner.

Comments

[nichtdhimmi]

Initial euphoria will prevail. Then, reality will set in, as Obama starts ratcheting down the military big-time. This will include military bases in Europe/Germany. The message will be sent: you're on your own, Germany. Certain circles will be confused and alarmed. The vast majority won't understand that now Germany must either divert a ton of money from its social programs into defense, or....they will become low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking. Germany: be careful what you wish for.

[WhatDoIKnow]

It will probably be very much like during Clinton's presidency. Obama is way to the left of Clinton, so I guess EU will like that even more. Obama will say the right things, and when he won't do the right things he will blame the R's and the media will buy it.

However, I'm quite certain that at some point events will force Obama to do what's best in America's interest, regardless of EU's opinion. How much blame he will then get will depend on how efficiently he will be able to blame again the R's for forcing him to make unilateral decisions. That might be the first sign of rupture between him and the German/EU left.

EU loves American presidents as long as they act like EU politicians. If they do what they are supposed to do - serving first and foremost the American people - the love story ends.

[Pamela]

@WhatDoIKnow
However, I'm quite certain that at some point events will force Obama to do what's best in America's interest,

Whatever you're smoking, I want some. Let's start redistributing the stuff right now.

[WhatDoIKnow]

Pamela

My crystal ball broke last time I moved so I can't say exactly what's going to happen. I can only speculate, just like you.

Presidents generally see what's good for the country through the filter of their own ideology. Some step voluntarily beyond their ideological convictions, and some do it only forced by events, public opinion etc.

Obama is a hard core (leftist) ideologue (unlike Bush, who isn't a true Conservative). He will probably make some token gestures of "reconciliation", but he will avoid going outside his ideological zone of comfort as much as possible.

What I believe will happen at some point is that he will have no choice but make decisions not truly in line with his ideology, disappointing the leftist hardliners and the EU elites. That's when his love affair with the EU might suffer a blow.

I understand if you believe that this will never happen, that Obama will rule from the far left his entire one single term (another prediction). You might be right, that's probably what he wants, but I still don't think this will be possible for him.

I don't think he can make similar disastrous decisions like Carter. Not that he is better than Carter, no, if anything, he is more ideological and naive. It's just that the times have changed and in spite of the media contributing decisively to Obama's possible victory, the media doesn't control the message anymore.

[Helian]

So far the reaction at SPON, et.al., is one that amounts to, for them, euphoria, hubris, jubilation, and adulation. For the time being, at least, ideology trumps territorial boundaries. The 68ers who control the German media recognize Obama as one of their own, a member of their "in-group," and are reacting accordingly. The mainstream leftist "progressive" ideology of our day isn't yet as coherent as, say, Communism or Naziism were in theirs, but its adherents recognize each other nevertheless. For that reason, there will be no relapse into anything like the Bush Derangement Syndrome we're all familiar with. That manifestation of human nature is reserved for members of out-groups. As for anti-Americanism in general, it has been rather subdued for some time compared to the almost incredibly virulent levels it reached, say, five to ten years ago. In those days, one often had to look carefully at Spiegel's website to find any German news. It was devoted almost entirely to peddling hatred of the United States. As Marx might have said, this extreme manifestation of hate was eventually limited by its own inherent contradictions. Spiegel and the rest couldn't keep it up and still maintain their favored "anti-racist" self image in the face of the increasing notice taken of their antics on our side of the Atlantic. The result was the hypocritical anti-Americanism "Lite" we've seen in recent years. Now even that will be eclipsed for a time as the aura of the "Chosen One" reflects on his homeland. What will happen after the honeymoon is over is anyone's guess. So far we're seeing "Reaction One." I suspect the love affair will last for some time, as Obama is so clearly an ideological soul mate of the German left. After all, he has belonged to groups and associated with individuals who openly hate the majority of the people in their own country for more than a decade. The German left will only be able to rationalize turning against one of their own if he adopts openly protectionist policies at Germany's expense, or otherwise "leaves the fold." It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[The_Whale]

Dave, You're really underselling the "is still Bush's fault!" card. As long as Obama just "talks the talk" and doesn't "walk the walk", any and all of the worlds problems will still be blamed on Bush. And if Obama's past is any prediction of the future, he will just talk for a long, long time. The germans will love it. When (if?) Obama has to actually make decisions, only then will the germans start to turn on him. I expect a long honeymoon between the germans and Obama and won't be surprised to see a few more pictures of Bush on the cover of magazines. They will blame Bush for as long as they possibly can.

[rodo]

Euphoria will rule for a while -- certainly for a honeymoon period and for a period after that until a substantive disagreement is reached. Then things could get ugly.

What the Germans and Euros in general want is to be the "moral authority" of the West. When issues arise, they want to pronounce the moral course of action, after which it becomes America's job to carry out the policy and pay for it. In other words, they long for authority without responsibility.

This attitude is unsustainable under any Administration. It is no accident that Vedrine coined "hyperpower" during the Clinton Administration. Eventually, the U.S. will decline to underwrite some important aspect of the vision of the European elite -- whether it involves Iran, support for Israel, Afghanistan, global warming, IMF bailout, trade, etc. When that happens, it is certain that the U.S. will be found "retrograde" for failing to recognize European moral authority. Whether the commentators will be cynical or sad for the America that once was is a matter for each pundit to decide for themselves.

[german observer]

The people have spoken: Change hath come. Congratulations to Barack Obama. Poor GOP.

Honeymoon will now sweep through German newschannels but will not perpetuate itself. However, the next years will be decisive concerning the coverage of the US in the German media: Will the images of cowboy boots sqashing German workforce end forever? Or will there be a more subtle version of this anti-Americanism?

In my opinion, te election of Barack Obama might well be a true turning point in German-American relations (at the level of the German population, at least). Things will start to look interesting when Obama is no longer able to attribute problems to President Bush, but must be made responsible for own controversial decisions. Kind of an experimental validation of German media double standards.

[Helian]

Excerpts from an article by "progressive" John Cusack at the Huffington Post:

"No Currency Left to Buy the Big Lies"

“The bastards are finally meeting their grisly ends and will be discarded and abandoned as men come to power who will actually try to govern.”

“Senator McCain, Governor Palin and assorted surrogates are delusional and breathtakingly corrupt. They disgrace themselves and their country as they lie, smear, slur and write it off as political manner.”

“We watch millionaires and paid Republican hacks appear on television yelling "Socialist!" at Obama as if the Bolsheviks are coming to rape our daughters.”

“They will feast on themselves -- the feast of carrion the Book of Revelation tells us...”

“This ideology has never been about free markets but a fundamentalist vision that is a cover for naked aggression and a social contract based on fear and greed.”

“We must actually kill to feed them. A horrible cross-pollination of fundamentalism, dementia and market fever has turned America into a willing enabler of corporate cannibalism. Nothing else to call it when murder is seen as a legitimate extension of economic policy.”

And, finally, his chin still dripping with spittle...

"...every human has value and should be awarded respect..."

Of course, this sort of thing appears on the right as well, but it's become positively symptomatic of the hard core ideological left. For that matter, it always has been. Seen in the context of recent history, it's not too hard to put two and two together and understand how they justified the murder of 100 million people in their previous, Communist incarnation.

The comment I left with these measured and gracious remarks at Huffington: "If you don’t get it, sorry, I’m not about to explain it to you. It only takes three words to explain why; 'Joe the plumber.'"

[Pamela]

And so it begins........

Got email from a friend today. A buddy of his owns a small business with 10 employees. Last month he gave them all 'provisional' pink slips, in the event Obama got elected with his tax plan for small businesses.

Apparently some (2) of his employees didn't take him seriously. They were celebrating Obama's win this morning when they showed up for work.

They are now unemployed.

My husband and I are waiting to see what kind of taxes he is actually successful at imposing before we let our office admin go. But we're in the planning stages..........

[bzedman]

I can't tell you what German media (as distinct from Germans) will say and do. But you might find this a point of interest of how it goes over here, in the USA. Here's an example of a conversation I heard today at work today:

Man: I was watching the news, and I think I figured out what happened to McCain...
Me: What do you mean?
Man: Who has McCain pissed off the most in the last five years?
Me: I dunno, lots of people?
Man: (Annoyed at my ignorance) BUSH! Who do you think caused the financial problems that killed McCain's chances?...BUSH!, to get even with him...
Me: (interruped, surprised) You think Bush would ruin our economy because he might be peeved at John McCain?
Man: (Turns his attention away from me, an obvious idiot, and addresses others) You see, Bush... (and so on)

It's odd, strangers will approach me, especially in lefty venues, like a Starbucks cafe, and strike up a friendly conversation with me (a stranger to them), the implied bond between us is a mutual hatred of George Bush, and they assume I love Obama. I'll gently clue them in I LIKE President Bush, and they get MEAN!

As for President Obama, I predict he'll be center-left, not way left. We have a fine tradition of politicians getting elected by institutions which they subsequently betray. The position demands it, they're no longer howling in the wilderness, but now have the responsibility of power. At least that's my hope.

[americanbychoice]

@Pamela,
Yes, I understand your concern about the Tax increses. However, too much is being done about that aspect of the economy. I see much more severe implications.
1) Bankrupting the coal industry. (Loss of jobs and higher prices of energy.
Promise to severely raise electricity rates. (tied to Coal)
3) Raising corporate tax rates. Now the second highest in the world. I guess he wants us to be first in something?
This will discourage foreign investment and job creation and higher prices for the goods being affected.
4) Government taking over Industry like Banks, Insurance, Automobile, Healthcare etc. This will give them unlimited, unchecked powers.
5) Takeover of private 401 K plans and subsituting them with Government I.O.u.'s

What some of the voting idiots don't comprehend is that income taxes are the smallest part of the evil. After all, 40% don't pay any at all. We pay more in hidden taxes and fees than income tax. What's ironic and sad is: it will hit the middle class and the poor the most.

[figuring]

One ironic reaction I've seen in the German press is the idea that Obama's election is proof that the US has lost superpower status and is in all ways bankrupt and no longer exceptional in the sense that now the Amis themselves are admitting to what the German left has always know. There's comparisons with the USSR.

[Pamela]

@americanbychoice

I couldn't agree more. Our financial guy got in touch and said there may be a way for us to get around the 401(k)/SEP-IRA grab, depending on how it's implemented (if it is)

You left one thing out though - increase in FICA taxes and removal of the cap

[americanbychoice]

@pamela
To Pamela, Just to piggyback on the 401K situation. "IF" it comes to pass, can you imagine the impact on the market when all these investments are pulled out of companies by the Fed? Many companies will be forced into Bankruptcy due lack of funds. Huge job losses will follow.
however, they will try to sell it as "just protecting the citizens of this country by shielding them from "those eeeevil corporations".
I can see the Fed to come to the rescue and pump Billions of dollars to prop up those companies for a stake in them. Pure socialist/Communist takeover.
We need to start now in order to vote out those socialist Dems in the mid term elections.

[Pamela]

@Helian
“We must actually kill to feed them. A horrible cross-pollination of fundamentalism, dementia and market fever has turned America into a willing enabler of corporate cannibalism. Nothing else to call it when murder is seen as a legitimate extension of economic policy.”

And, finally, his chin still dripping with spittle...

"...every human has value and should be awarded respect..."

So-called late term abortion excepted. What the hell are you doing over there (HuffPo) anyway? I read a piece today that noted there are more abortions in Russia than there are live births. What does that say about a society?

@americanbychoice

I think we all need to calm down a bit. This last election cycle has been the longest in our history - almost 2 years. Obama got into the race when Iraq looked like a disaster and the economy looked like it was booming. The country he has been elected to lead is not the country he thought he was going to lead. Not for one minute do I believe he is stupid or naive - I think the SOB is a Trojan Horse who thought he could put this country on the path to 'social justice' - as long as we had the money to redistribute.

Be careful what you wish for.

Something tells me Barry O. wishes he had stayed in Hawaii chasing the surf.

I hope he is a successful president because I want the best for my country - but my guess is that he worked very hard to govern caviar on a plate and is a bit nonplussed at being served shit on a stick.

moveon.org delivered over $80 million to his campaign.
Wonder what they'll get for it.

A very roundabout way of saying - I don't think a 401(k)/SEP-IRA grab is going to succeed - we're expecting another 500,000 job losses in the coming months and Detroit auto makers want a bailout.

Poor Barry.

sniff

[jlwb]

@Pamela. Wise words, however, we will be lucky if it is only 500,000 jobs lost. My husband is an outside salesman so he sees what is going on in our area. The companies are waiting. It will be interesting to see what Obama has to say on Friday, but, there are plans in place to do a lot of shutdowns/layoffs. 500,000 could be a very low number.
As for the 401 grab. Talked to a lib I know today. They have a house twice the size of ours and she doesn't work. She told me it wasn't a problem because "they" don't have a 401 or sep or anything. Guess we should have bought a bigger house and I should have stayed home!

[Pamela]

sorry, I made an assertion w/o evidence. Here is the evidence.

Russia and its Abortion Apocalypse

It is, in fact, an abortion factory, butchering over 2 million fetuses each year, more than 5,400 per day, more than it has live births — a situation virtually unprecedented in human history. Every ten years, Russians kill more of their own people simply by means of abortion than did Hitler’s invading Nazi hoardes in the whole of World War II.

There are only two possible explanations for this reality. One is that Russian women are terrified of bringing new lives into the neo-Soviet atrocity being created by Vladimir Putin. The other is that Russians are recklessly heedless of contraception, and using abortion to address the situation after the fact. It’s hard to say which would make Russia appear more barbaric, and in our view it is likely that both are operating, since neither alone could account for such a massive difference between Russia and the rest of the civilized world.

And just in case you all give a rat's butt about my own views - personally, I am pro-life - politically, I am pro-choice. If the gov't can tell you you must bear a child then the gov't can prevent you from the same.

I am posting this piece here not because of any abortion issues but because of the light it sheds on Russian society. What a nightmare.

[Pamela]

Ah! jlwb, there you are!

gateway contact info - [email protected] - my trash email - please get in touch - I know we tried before and just missed each other........

Best,

Pam

[jlwb]

@Pamela Wrote Thanks

[Gabi]

I felt so tired of this Bush-bashing reactions, that I felt a great relief that Obama, a Democrat, will be the next president of the US. People reacted so wild and crazy when they talked about Bush and the US, that I could not bear it anymore. "Of course" they like the US but not Bush, they always emphasized. I have my doubts. But what I know is, that most of the people we know here in Germany prefer the Democratic party because the Republican party is "right" and "conservativ". Two keywords for an attitude which most of the Germans hate. Knowledge about the politics and programs of these two parties? Zero.

[Pamela]

jlwb check your email

Hi Gabi! Well, that's ok - As far as I can tell Germans don't know anything about the EU either.

[garydausz]

@Pamela
"Hi Gabi! Well, that's ok - As far as I can tell Germans don't know anything about the EU either."

That is probably right but I at least they are not constantly talking about the EU and behave as if they would know everything about it.

[Jeffrey]

I've written my first post-election comment over at Andrew Hammel's "German Joys." Here's the opening:

Obama's election has made for extremely interesting (and highly entertaining) reading of the German press. Not five hours after the initial jubilation upon Obama's coronation, the journalists inevitably paused (Ami-bashing no longer offering the same schadenfreudlich frisson), began to look at themselves, and asked ... wait for it ... "Where's Europe's Obama?"

That has to be the most bizarre headline I've ever read. Here are the opening two graphs of that article:

Europe's euphoria at Barack Obama's election has given way to a worm of self-doubt. America may now have its first-ever black president, but which European nation could elect a leader from one of its own ethnic minorities?

On Wednesday morning, news of America's historic election was gobbled up by an Obama-besotted Europe. But introspection has set in just as quickly, as the Old World has to admit that its own Obama figure might take some time to emerge.

Okay, let's look at Deutschland. Where are your minorities? The first answer is easy: Auschwitz. The second is the failure of integration for two and a half million Turks in Germany. In a parliament of around 600 members, five of them are Turkish-German. If a Turkish-German says to a jus sanguinis German: "I'm German," the German mutters under his breath, "Yeah, riiiiight."

*

[LC Mamapajamas]

Erik Svane over at No Pasaran reported that it took mere MINUTES for Le Monde to change their nuance. When they sent out their e-mail alert that Obama had won, he says, "It's no longer "un (homme) noir" who has won the White House, according to Le Monde's email service, but "un métis". (That way, the path is open for charges of anti-"black" racism to be levelled at (white) Americans in the future…)"

Interesting take. Obama has already morphed in Le Monde from black to mixed blood (ie: Half white).

At any rate, I'll undoubtedly be surprising the leftoids around me, who know full well that I'm one of those nasty extreme right-wing Republicans. I'm the one who will be telling people to give the man a chance and see what he can do.

He is, after all, a man with a long record of accomplishing absolutely nothing.

[Tropby]

More than 50% of the US electorate voted for Obama.

There are two dozen posts in this thread, but none displays a positive attitude about him. A majority of the posts are clear Obama and/or Germany bashing.

Maybe ´Medienkritik´ is a wrong label, as it implies some impartiality: ´Republicans whining about Democrats and Germans´ seems to be a better fit.

But back on topic:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,589035,00.html

[LC Mamapajamas]

Trop-- I guess you weren't paying attention when I said, "I'm the one who will be telling people to give the man a chance and see what he can do."

We're talking about a candidate with a history of doing nothing worth mentioning. I'm perfectly willing to SEE if he CAN do anything.

[americanbychoice]

There is one thing the German media can't claim anymore: America is racist. It is definite that the whites put him in office.
Hadhe lost by one point they would still call us racist though, go figure.

I sure hope it doesn't change from Obama to Oh Bummer?

[The_Whale]

Trop - We're giving our prognostication (and the reasons behind our prognostications) of the german media's reaction to Obama's election. You're free to give yours.

[Pamela]

@LCMama
"It's no longer "un (homme) noir" who has won the White House, according to Le Monde's email service, but "un métis". (That way, the path is open for charges of anti-"black" racism to be levelled at (white) Americans in the future…)"

And he's just given them ammo. In a news conference today he referred to himself as "a mutt".

Great.

(For European readers: "mutt" is generally understood to mean a dog that is not pure-bred).

Man, I could take this places.

But I won't. Because he looked like unmitigated hell. I didn't look that bad when my mother died.

Buck up Barry. It's only been 2 days. Get a grip.

Hey Tropby, you coward. Don't have any response to the refutations of your 'weasel/dehumanization' post downthread?

[Pamela]

sorry for the rotten html - I do that some times

And Jeffrey - nice to make your acquaintance - you rock.

[Tropby]

@ LC Mamapajamas

´"I'm the one who will be telling people to give the man a chance and see what he can do."

We're talking about a candidate with a history of doing nothing worth mentioning. I'm perfectly willing to SEE if he CAN do anything.´

Your position seems to be the position of somebody whose side lost, but who is trying to take it with dignity. I doubt that you voted for Obama. I may well be wrong; I am quite likely wrong about my use of quotation marks. ;-)

Most visitors are on the conservative side of the US political spectrum - which explains a lot of the vitriol directed to the ´leftist´ German media.

-----------------------------

@ Pamela the foulmouthed:

´Hey Tropby, you coward. Don't have any response to the refutations of your 'weasel/dehumanization' post downthread?´

Sorry, there was no refutation. Read the original post:

The OP linked to some Spiegel covers and claimed that there were no similar US media covers about Germany. I gave a link to a more offensive one from a major Murdoch paper and added a historical factoid about Nazi-propaganda.

My post was and remains factually correct.

The cover You listed was neither among the listed ones, nor even a news magazine cover - it is from the member´s journal of a trade union.

But all of this does not matter: The author claimed that US media did not use offensive images of Germany, and I gave evidence to refute said claim. Nobody claimed that all German media were adopting higher standards; I used the term ´linked German covers´.

Read first, insult later. Engage brain, if possible.

Oh, and Your funny anecdote about firing pro-Obama workers: It is taken from a small-business mailing list ... even FARK caught it.

-----------------------------

@ Thomass:

Nice weaseling on weasels not being vermin. Ask any chicken or rabbit farmer about weasels: They are vermin, killing more than they can eat as they tend to go into a killing frenzy IIRC. They also stink.

I have to assume that you are not from the American heart land, displaying such a lack of agricultural knowledge: So you are no true US patriot, at least according to Governor Palin. Shame on you, you leftist America-bashing urbanite.

Running ´weasel´ through some online translation service resulted e.g. in a conniving / perfidious / snaky / malicious / furtive / sneaky / underhanded / back-stabbing etc. person.

[Pamela]

@Tropby
Oh, and Your funny anecdote about firing pro-Obama workers: It is taken from a small-business mailing list ... even FARK caught it.

I'm aware of the email that went around that you are referring to - the business owner went around the parking lot and looked for Obama bumper stickers on his employees' cars, right? You are correct - that one was - or at least seems to have been a hoax. But what I am referring to is an email from a friend and I confirmed it with the business owner - in Atlanta Georgia who owns an auto body repair shop. Because I was aware of the original hoax I thought it was best to confirm - and I did. Also, you are ignoring what my husband and I, as small business owners, are planning for - laying off our office admin. That would be a disaster for us and for her - especially for her in this job market.

And guess what - what you accused the Americans of in the thread below - the Germans have been doing it forever and you got caught out. It does not make me foul-mouthed. It makes you a loser.

[The_Whale]

"Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel." quote by Homer Simpson

[Helian]

@Pamela

"What the hell are you doing over there (HuffPo) anyway?"

Why, if I'd never checked out HuffPo, via Instapundit, and many intermediate links, I would never have known that Gary "Bimbo-jaeger" Hart(pence) was other than the upstanding moderate Democrat that I always took him for! Silly me! He is, in fact, a dweller among the moonbats. Who knew?

"I read a piece today that noted there are more abortions in Russia than there are live births. What does that say about a society?"

The Russians survived the Mongols, Napoleon, and Hitler. (They've taken a lot of hits for the rest of us, haven't they?) Maybe they'll survive this, too.

[Pamela]

OK, what the hell is this?

In a tortuous ruling that threatens to have a chilling effect on discussions of “new” German anti-Semitism, the District Court of Cologne recently upheld a restraining order that forbids author Henryk Broder from describing the discourse of a virulent critic of Israel as “anti-Semitic” in a post on a popular German blog.

[ ]

Thus the court’s own press release underscores that, “by virtue of this ruling, the statement that the plaintiff makes anti-Semitic remarks has not been prohibited outright. A similar statement that is sufficiently well grounded [mit dem erforderlichen Sachbezug] would be permissible.” It then goes on to specify, however, that whether a charge of anti-Semitism is sufficiently sachbezogen — literally, “objectively oriented” — is up to the courts to decide on a case-by-case basis. In light of the potential costs involved — Broder was required to pay some €3600 in court costs, to say nothing of legal fees and lost time — who under such circumstances will be prepared to run the risk of uttering the charge?

What bullshit

[Buckeye Abroad]

@Helian

"The Russians survived the Mongols, Napoleon, and Hitler. (They've taken a lot of hits for the rest of us, haven't they?) Maybe they'll survive this, too."

They will. I have a personal insight on that.

[LC Mamapajamas]

@Tropby, re: "Your position seems to be the position of somebody whose side lost, but who is trying to take it with dignity. I doubt that you voted for Obama. I may well be wrong; I am quite likely wrong about my use of quotation marks. ;-)

"Most visitors are on the conservative side of the US political spectrum - which explains a lot of the vitriol directed to the ´leftist´ German media."

Actually, I am slightly to the right of Ronald Reagan, so yes, I'm a conservative. And, yes, my "side" lost-- at some point during the early primaries. One of the reasons McCain didn't win is because we didn't particularly like him. Palin ALMOST saved his ass during the last couple of months of the campaign. She was the only thing keeping his campaign alive at all.

But I'm STILL willing to give Obama a chance. It is, after all, my country. If the country is to succeed, the President needs to succeed. I'd like for him to do a good job.

I want to see if he can accomplish anything. We don't have a track record of him ever accomplishing anything to fall back on, so we honestly don't know if he can do the job.

But I'm willing to wait and see.

[americanbychoice]

L.C.,
Let's all hope it doesn't go from O-Bama to Oh-bummah?

[German In Name Only]

My two words - RATIFY POTSDAM

[Fred H]

Won't it be funny just a few months after Obama takes office, when some environmentalists start to look at the US energy and climate progress in a different light because they expect to see more progress under Obama and therefore will start looking for it, whereas they didn't even bother to look for it before, because they just assumed that there could be no progress under Bush? Won't it be funny when just a few months after Obama takes office, he will already have managed to build enough new wind turbines to overtake Germany in actual wind power production, and when after only a few months, he will already have been adding more wind power capacity per year than any other country? And when he will already have increased the percentage of renewable energy to a close to that of Germany? And when the per capita and per $GNP energy and CO2 will have already started declining? And when solar power will already be growing exponentially, and when there will already be reformed and tougher fuel economy standards with smaller loopholes, and incentives for high milage and alternative fuel cars, and dozens of research and development programs and leveraged cooperations with industry already in progress? And when many States, with the support and aid of the federal government, will already have passed renewable energy portfolio laws and formed regional organizations to coordinate the development of new infrastructure and policies necessary for new alternative energy? And when the US will already have made agreements with other non-Kyoto and developing countries to cooperate and share technology to reduce deforestation and to promote the development of renewable and low emissions energy? And when energy conservation programs and rating systems for buildings and houshold and office appliances and equipment will already have started, and so on and so forth? Won't that be funny when they (don't) wonder how Obama could make so much progress in such a short time? Won't that be funny when they (don't) wonder how the US could achieve in a few months, with no extra money, what in some other countries took years and billions? Won't that be funny?