Why Obama will soon land in Europe - by Gregor Peter Schmitz
What will the new U.S. president mean for Europe? And above all, what will he want from Europe? A group of Europeans and Americans recently engaged in heated debate on the subject on the sidelines of a transatlantic conference at Stanford University. Charles Kupchan, a former advisor to Bill Clinton and one of America's top experts on Europe, gave a less than euphoric assessment. What will happen, he asked his audience, if the popular Barack Obama comes to Europe as U.S. president and demands much more help in Afghanistan or Iraq? How will the Europeans respond? These difficult questions won't arise in earnest until next year, but European politicians will soon be able to meet Obama in person. The Democratic contender announced over the weekend that he plans to visit Europe during the presidential campaign. His itinerary includes Paris, London and Berlin.
When Obama lands in Germany, he will probably spend only a few hours in Berlin, and it's unlikely that he will address a large audience or meet the public there. One reason may be that too much open euphoria for Obama could damage his election chances at home -- Democrats haven't forgotten how the Republicans labeled John Kerry as too "European" four years ago. It seems unlikely that the German government or the U.S. Embassy will want to give Obama a public stage in the middle of the presidential campaign. It's conceivable that Obama might meet Americans living in Germany to collect campaign donations.
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