20080718 Real Clear Politics: The Audacity of Hope by Charles Krauthammer

20080718 "The Audacity of Hope" by Charles Krauthammer

Real Clear Politics: The Audacity of Hope by Charles Krauthammer

July 18, 2008 The Audacity of Vanity By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.
He figures it would be a nice backdrop. The supporting cast -- a cheering audience and a few fainting frauleins -- would be a picturesque way to bolster his foreign policy credentials.

What Obama does not seem to understand is that the Brandenburg Gate is something you earn. President Reagan earned the right to speak there because his relentless pressure had brought the Soviet empire to its knees and he was demanding its final "tear down this wall" liquidation. When President Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate on the day of his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, he was representing a country that was prepared to go to the brink of nuclear war to defend West Berlin.

Who is Obama representing? And what exactly has he done in his lifetime to merit appropriating the Brandenburg Gate as a campaign prop?

[…]

Does Obama not see the incongruity? It's as if a German pol took a campaign trip to America and demanded the Statue of Liberty as a venue for a campaign speech. (The Germans have now gently nudged Obama into looking at other venues.)

Americans are beginning to notice Obama's elevated opinion of himself.

There's nothing new about narcissism in politics…

[…]

Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted "present" nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and as legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself.

[…]

At this point Mr. Krauthammer was just warming up. To read the rest of the column go here: The Audacity of Vanity.

Related links: 20070612 Ronald Reagan Tear Down This Wall June 12 1989

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/obamas_egoaccomplishment_gap.html

20080718 Real Clear Politics: The Audacity of Hope by Charles Krauthammer