Senators travel. Within reason, they are expected to, especially Senators who are would-be Presidents. But not in modern times has a presumptive Presidential nominee engaged in the kind of over-hyped spectacle
we are witnessing this week with Obama’s forays into Afghanistan, Iraq, Berlin, Paris and London.
Noah Barkin of Reuters
notes that Obama’s planned speech in Berlin is already being compared to John Kennedy’s 1963 address in Berlin.
Problem one. Obama isn’t President. Yet. And he’s not John Kennedy. And Americans may not react well to a not-yet-President parading around Europe, acting like one before a single American has cast a general election vote.
Problem Two. Normally candidates sell themselves in their own country before presenting themselves to thousands of adulating adherents on foreign soil. That visual may not square well at home, particularly with swing voters who believe that America comes first, even if it is at the expense of our relationship with Europe. And temperate Americans stateside will recoil at any implied criticism of the United States from Obama’s mouth while on foreign soil.
Problem Three. There is enormous risk. Think Iraq. Iran. Israel. Which version of Obama’s withdrawal plan will al-Maliki support this week and will Obama announce that he’s had new thoughts on a timetable after meeting with the troops? Will Obama repeat his “undivided Jerusalem” vow or nuance his position again? Will he go hard on talks with Iran or revert to his “no conditions” tea party of the primary months.
If Obama pulls off the trip without a single glitch, and secures a ten point boost in his numbers, history will regard this a genius stunt. Here’s betting he’ll be dogged until election day by something that goes wrong.
