Some Assembly Required

 

Barack Obama made an appearance in Berlin, Germany yesterday and I was there to witness it.  I was in the “inner circle” along with the press corps and I saw him as he strode down the walkway toward the podium with a confident smile and a cheerful wave to the crowd.

My friend, Karen, and I drove from Dresden to Berlin early in the morning and spent the morning and early afternoon walking from one historic site to another.  We started at the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, walked onward to the Brandenburg Gate, attempted to visit our recently completed American Embassy (we were turned away), walked past the Landstag and ambled down Unter den Linden until we reached Humboldt University where we stopped for a moment to rest and cool down in a courtyard overgrown with climbing ivy.  We continued toward Neue Wache, the old armory and Museum Island before turning back to see Bebelplatz (which was in disarray because of the recent Fashion Week) and Gendarmenmarkt, then on to Checkpoint Charlie, the SS Headquarters, Berlin Wall, 17. Juni Memorial and the Luftwaffe headquarters. 

Along the way, we were interviewed by a Polish TV station for their coverage of Obama’s visit.  They asked us a few questions - clearly interested to know what our opinion was about the intention of the senator’s visit - then filmed us walking down the sidewalk, cutting to a shot of our backsides.  Just what I need - my butt on Polish television.  I hope they’ve got widescreens.

So, the two-cent tour over with, we stopped for lunch and learned afterwards that we were just around the corner from the hotel where Senator Obama was staying.  We walked toward the Tiergarten through the crowd gathered outside the hotel, noticing a lone McCain supporter in the crowd.  We stopped to rest and change the batteries in Karen’s camera and ended up having the “best seats in the house” as the cavalcade left and the senator waved from his vehicle.  No pictures, though, we were fixated on the cute, German police officer snoozing in the open door of the Polizei van.

Deciding that we’d seen most of the historic sites within walking distance, we strolled through the Tiergarten and exited near the gates to the event.  I stopped to complete a request for an absentee ballot after we entered the first set of gates then we joined one of the lines for the security checkpoints for admission to the “inner circle.”  We passed through and found ourselves so close that we questioned  our luck.  We endured another filmed interview then looked around for a spot to begin our wait for the main event. 

While waiting, Christiane Amanpour joined the crowd and allowed fans to have their pictures taken with her and I was even asked to snap a shot with her for a man from Africa.  She’s an amazing woman and showed great kindness to those who approached her.

We met a young computer animator from Brooklyn visiting his girlfriend in Berlin, a lovely French woman who laughed about her “crazy president” and asked what we thought of him, a high school history teacher from California eager to witness history in the making and a young black man from Bonn who claimed that Barack Obama has changed his life.  We all laughed and applauded as the man from Bonn was interviewed repeatedly  - his enthusiasm and vigor energizing the crowd around him. 

Lest you believe the reports from the mainstream media, this crowd was not predominantly “young and pierced Germans.”  We were young, middle-aged and elderly, families with children, law students, professionals and self-employed businesspersons.  We were American, German, African, French, Czech and Polish (those were the people I met, personally) and our reasons for being there had more to do with our belief in the need for change than the promise of a festival.

After three and a half hours of waiting, the moment finally arrived.  Senator Obama walked toward the podium with grace and confidence and a certain affability that made it seem as though we were going to engage in a casual chat between friends rather than listen to a historic speech designed to unite continents.  The crowd - people of every nation - loved him.

He spoke about tearing down the metaphorical walls between race and religion and the crowd went wild with approval.  He spoke of nuclear disarmament and the furor was so intense it felt like a physical presence.  This man had this crowd of thousands (police  estimates suggested 200,000) eating out of the palm of his hand.

He promised that, ideally, the U.S. would join with the rest of the world to reduce emissions and that the war in Iraq would be resolved as quickly as possible but he promised no speedy resolution in Afghanistan and, in fact, suggested that more commitment from our Allies might be necessary.  

 

At the end, Senator Barack Obama, candidate for the highest office of the United States of America, went to the crowd and personally greeted those gathered to see him.  The surge of bodies nearly crushed me but I reached out and I found my hand grasped by the cool, sure grip of the  man who would be President.

To be honest, I was transported to the day when I was a little girl and I shook the hand of then-mayor Margaret T. Hance of Phoenix, Arizona.  I felt honored, privileged and, most of all, connected to something bigger than me.  He’s just a man but he’s a man with a plan.  A plan to repair the damage done to the reputation of the United States. A plan to make Americans proud again.  A plan to embrace a better world for our children.  I want to feel connected to that plan.

I wish you the best in November, Senator Obama.  All the best.

Tschüss!

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