Obama Meets With Germany's Merkel

Obama's scheduled to speak in Berlin at 1 pm eastern time.

Who do Germans want for America's president? 

Spiegel: Would he drive to the Chancellery in a motorcade or would he take a helicopter for his visit to Chancellor Angela Merkel? Obama's charter jet had barely touched down at Berlin's Tegel Airport, and reporters were already asking the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate how he planned to get around the city.

Then he stepped into a sedan -- part of a long motorcade, accompanied by US security vehicles and German police -- and began the journey to downtown Berlin, with hundreds of fans standing by as he made his way. Obama briefly greeted a crowd assembled on the street before disappearing into the Chancellery. As she greeted the presidential candidate, Merkel said she was hoping to have a good conversation with Obama.

The talks between the German leader and Obama lasted for about an hour, and the pair reportedly discussed climate protection, global trade and German-American relations. Just after 12 p.m., the Illinois senator and his entourage traveled about a half a mile further to the Adlon Hotel near the Brandenburg Gate before a afternoon meeting planned with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Social Democrats. He also has plans to meet with Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit.

Obama finally arrived at the Foreign Ministry a little after 2 p.m. and emerged almost an hour later. Immediately following the meeting, Steinmeier announced: "The atmosphere was open and trusting. We built on our telephone conversation from mid-April." Steinmeier said he detected parallels in their philosophy of foreign policy. "Cooperation instead of confrontation -- that is also his foreign policy aim," adding that it had been a good conversation. read more

What Obama might say:

According to Obama's advisors, the candidate is expected to call on Europeans to increase their role in the war on terror. Obama is expected to ratchet up its efforts in that campaign, an advisor told Reuters. Obama has already announced that he plans to send more US troops to Afghanistan. He is also expecting greater contributions from America's NATO allies in Europe.
In an interview published earlier this week in SPIEGEL, Obama foreign policy advisor Susan Rice called on NATO to increase its troops and "to the greatest extent possible" to "lift operational restrictions." Though Rice did not mention Germany specifically, Berlin has drawn criticism in the US and Canada for refusing to send troops into the hotly contested southern part of the country where the Taliban insurgency has grown in strength. Instead Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, are restricted to peacekeeping and rebuilding in the relatively safe northern part of the country.

Obama's Berlin Speech July 24

Update: Transcript and reaction. Video coming!

Update: it's expected to start 1 pm eastern time live streaming at cnn.com

Obama's world tour map

The gates open at 4 pm Germany time (check out my Obama time clock in the sidebar. They are 9 hours ahead) More details
German chancellor Angela Merkel says she will tell Obama that Germany will have limited involvement in Afghanistan. There are big hopes for Obama to win the election. It seems that the whole world felt oppressed by the Bush administration. 
The expected fanfare: Time

Spiegel: More than 13,000 US citizens are officially registered as residents of Berlin, and Steltzer is convinced that Americans living in nearby countries will make a pilgrimage to Germany to get a glimpse of their idol. Steltzer learned from some fellow Democrats in Paris that some of them were hoping to make the trip to Berlin. Democrats Abroad in neighboring Denmark and the Netherlands have announced similar plans. And Christine Marques, who heads Democrats Abroad, will be coming to Germany's capital on Thursday from Switzerland.
Whether it turns out to be a couple thousand or a million, no one knows for sure how many people will ultimately converge near the Grosse Stern traffic circle in the middle of Berlin's Tiergarten park, the geographical heart of the city. And there is very little time left for dealing with the organization and logistics of the event. Nonetheless, city officials seem to be taking a laid back approach to Obama's planned speech. "There's nothing left that can shock us," an official at the municipal office in charge of the event says. After the Love Parade (more...) and the so-called "fan miles" held for soccer fans in the Tiergarten for the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 European Championship that persistently drew crowds of over 1 million beer-swilling soccer enthusiasts, Obama's appearance should be a piece of cake.

Der Spiegel's interview with Obama's foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice:

SPIEGEL: It is unusual for a US presidential candidate to travel to Europe in the middle of the campaign. Why is Barack Obama coming?
Susan Rice: Senator Obama believes it is critically important for the United States and Europe to cooperate far more effectively than we have in recent years. None of us can tackle the critical global challenges we face in isolation -- be it terrorism, proliferation, climate change, disease, poverty or energy security. Obama will want to discuss in Europe and Germany how we each view these challenges and how we can best address them together.

SPIEGEL: Critics say the trip is nothing but a PR stunt to strengthen his foreign-policy credentials and that he has only rarely been to Europe before.

Rice: Senator Obama has travelled to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia many times before. He lived in Asia. He bows to nobody in his understanding of this world. This trip will be yet another opportunity for Senator Obama to exchange views with the leaders of countries whose partnership is critically important to US national security.

High hopes for Obama:

Obama is the hope of a Western world filled with concerns. A recession looms as does high inflation sparked by exploding demand for commodities and natural resources. Furthermore, no one has yet come up with a convincing response to global warming. No one knows how to bring peace to the Middle East, Afghanistan or Iraq. And no one has a promising strategy for dealing with Islamist terrorism.
At the same time, the West is searching for its place in an "incomplete world order," as journalist Peter Bender describes the current state of affairs. How strong will China, Russia and India become? How should the West interact with these countries? And is there even such a thing as the "West" anymore?

It is time for leadership. And only one man inspires the kind of confidence that would enable him to assume this leadership: Barack Obama. Germans, in particular, are pinning their hopes on this man. Whereas just 10 percent favor the Republican candidate John McCain, fully 76 percent consider Barack Obama the better candidate.