Das Ein In Berlin ; Or, America As Global Citizen

Nora McAlvanah's guest post provoked a flood of angry e-mails into my inbox, and to tell you the truth, I kind of agree with some of their sentiments: who, exactly, set these strictures that Obama has fallen afoul of?

What's so bad about Germans cheering an American, especially when the visuals were stunning. Hundreds of American flags, waving. 200,000 Berliners cheering an American presidential candidate.

A short speech, mostly, carrying the message that animates Obama's presidency:

The message of the speech was the common values that unite the citizens of the world. Obama's Berlin is a shining beacon of hope to the world, "where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is so challenge too great for a world that stands as one."

The "burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change in leadership in Washington will not lift this burden in the new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more, not less."

Is this too presumptuous? Is it what globally conscious Americans have been longing to hear? Will Americans be able to distinguish between the domestic politics of foreign nations and the foreign politics of our nation? This is a show, to be sure. Will it be renewed in the fall? Or dropped from the schedule?