German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama in Baden-Baden, Germany, today. (AP photos here and below by Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
by Mark Silva
"Danke schoen,'' said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Danke schoen,'' said President Barack Obama, adding: "My German is not as good as Chancellor Merkel's...''
"What a surprise, Mr. President!'' Merkel replied, in English. "My English also not...''
Yet the two appeared to get through a private meeting and public press conference together in Baden-Baden, Germany, today, another in a series of bilateral talks heading into a NATO summit in the French-German border region, in a fair amount of agreement of terms.
""In our bilateral talks, we concluded again that we have long term -- long years of friendly relations. And I do hope that we will be able to continue those in the years to come,'' said Merkel, in German, with the translation of an interpreter here, who had begun to repair German relations with the U.S. after her predecessor's differences with the Bush administration over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"I think there is, indeed, a broad array of issues that we need to contend with,'' Merkel said, standing alongside Obama. "The Federal Republic of Germany stands ready to give its contribution towards solving them.
" Over the last several days what we've been grappling with is an economic crisis that is unlike anything we've seen since the '30s,'' Obama said.
But "the economy is just one of our challenges,'' Obama said. "Whether it's issues of climate change or poverty or -- or trying to bring about peace in regions that have known conflict for a very long time, in all of these areas, cooperation is going to be critical, and leadership from our two countries is going to be critical. ''
Obama was asked by the German media about his "grand design'' for NATO.
" I don't come bearing grand designs,'' Obama said. "I'm here to listen, to share ideas and to jointly, as one of many NATO allies, to help shape our vision for the future.
"If NATO becomes everything, then it's nothing. So obviously, we're going to have to define and clarify its roles, responsibilities, for the 21st Century,'' he said.
"The United States and Germany and all the other NATO countries should see this as an opportunity to put together an architecture that is as successful at meeting our new challenges as the prior architecture was at meeting the challenges of the Cold War.
"What is indeed gratifying to note,'' Merkel said, "is that the new approach of the new administration of the United States as regards Afghanistan is very much in step with what Germany is envisaging: this sort of networked security, as we call it, or an integrated security, where you have a civilian component of rebuilding, training, and, last but not least, obviously also the capacity of the Afghans to really defend themselves. That is, after all, what we're after with our mission to Afghanistan...
" I can't say what are limits of NATO,'' she said. "If there are any attacks on member states of the alliance, then everybody feels attacked, and (there will be) a right to protect our security, and we will do that in the future.... That is basically the commitment that we made.''
Comments
Obama says he didn't come with a "grand design?"
He came with a grand design, all right. The design was to give fawning media types the opportunity to once again slobber all over him. And get his photo taken a hundred times a day, while muttering meaningless inanities about "concluding" that the countries should have "friendly relations" (wow, that's controversial...). All on the taxpayer's dime.
And on cue, Obama's press corps delivered for him.
Posted by: Arthur Henning | April 3, 2009 2:37 PM
Arthur. . .slowly move away from the computer and take a deep breath. For crying out loud, Obama went over there for the G-2 SUMMIT!!!!! Yes, on the taxpayer's dime, too! Do you SERIOUSLY want to start looking at all the ways Dubya and Company spent the taxpayer's dime???? As president of the US, do you expect him to simply stay at the White House? Obama and his wife are making great strides in repairing the damage that Dubya and Company caused over the last eight years not only in this country, but worldwide. Geez. . .give the man a break!
Posted by: Janstress | April 3, 2009 3:19 PM
Janstress: The man is never at the White House. This President actually bowed to an Arab leader, called our country arrogant and came off as a weak and as an amateur. The Russians, Chi-coms and the rest probably were laughing all the way home.
Posted by: vla | April 3, 2009 4:08 PM
"janstress", you miss the point. Obama was supposed to be "different", not a Bush copy. Remember "Hope and Change"? Especially the "change" part?
Posted by: Arthur Henning | April 4, 2009 8:26 AM
@Arthur
your 1st post didn't have the point that you indicate janstress missed. The point of your first post is that Obama is failing in his meetings with euro leaders and the media is his bitch, pandering to him and stating otherwise. This all done while wasting government money. C'mon, now... You really want the USA to be absent from these meetings? You waiting for the president to say something really stupid, rather than make bland statements? Your opinion of the press is your opinion. Mine is that that the press is less news and more comment than it should be, but that's what advertisers are funding.
Posted by: xj-notthecar | April 4, 2009 5:15 PM