Obama in Berlin

I have felt a little left out of the U.S. presidential race this year.

Sure, there are times when I think that was a blessing. It was a long spring with primary, after primary. The emotional roller coaster relayed via CNN International was enough to keep my political curiosity perfectly sated.

But, yesterday, I would have liked to been in Berlin.

Watching Obama's speech I made me long for the chance to hear him speak in person. The excitement in the 200,000-plus crowd gathered between Berlin’s Victory Column and Brandenburg Gate was clearly evident. It's slightly embarrassing to admit this: but the speech left me teary-eyed.

Despite claims made in both the American and German press, which said that his speech was "vague on issues," I was not left wondering about the specifics of his policies. For me, what was important was that he is looking to work in partnership with Europe, rather then strong-arming the rest of the world.

As Obama exited the stage, there were people from all over the world chanting, "yes we can." It was great to see American flags waving unabashedly. After eight years of feeling that Europeans hate Americans based on the politics of our president, I am looking forward to voting for someone who makes me proud to be an American.

Here's a quote from an article on Bloomberg.com that seems to sum-up this idea:

“A potential American president having an extremely enthusiastic response from a European audience waving American flags: That was all very compelling," added [Democratic media consultant Bill Carrick], who isn't working on the Obama campaign.... "I was a little skeptical about all this when I first heard about it, but I think it worked."

(Image (c) New York Times.)