How much do you know about Berlin? Try this quiz at National Geographic. I scored 90%. How’d you do?

And is advertising them with a horribly embarrassing commercial.

What do you think?

Here’s an interesting article from Spiegel Online International:

THE WORLD FROM BERLIN: ‘Obama Created His Own Movement’

Barack Obama’s honeymoon has proven remarkably short. Just a day after celebrating his election as America’s 44th president, the real world began to dampen the euphoria. German commentators look at some of the hurdles facing him.

For much of the last eight years, the European view of the United States has been relatively one-dimensional, particularly after the hated George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004. America was aggressive, arrogant and disrespectful of the international community and international law, according to the accepted view. Once it was clear that Barack Obama would be chosen by the Democratic Party to challenge John McCain for the presidency, a further element was added to the damning picture: America, many Europeans were certain, was far too racist a country to elect a black man to occupy the White House. (keep reading…)

I just finished the interview and wow, I think I sucked pretty hard.  I just am not good at immediately spitting out answers, I like to think things out a bit more, plus I’d spent the time before the interview perusing the German coverage, so my brain was still in German language mode (shoulda thought of that before surfing over to Spiegel and FAZ).  But I also know we are always our own worst critics, so hopefully it’s not as bad as I thought (Rainer was on Tagesschau once and thought he sucked but he was just fine).  I’ll post a link as soon as the files available for download (or maybe I won’t if it really, trully sucks!)

Update: I was really being hard on myself.  After listening to the broadcast again, I think I did fine, as well as any of the other expat bloggers they had on.  And I actually spoke quite a bit, it just didn’t feel that way at the time.  Strange how perception is so different from reality. Anyways, you can listen to the show here.

And here are my answers to the questions I was given as prep:

How are you keeping up with American politics?

I tune in to CNN International and BBC World every morning (at least when my cable is working, which it hasn’t for the last week), surf news websites like Washington Post and Spiegel Online, watch full episodes of The Daily Show and the Colbert Report online, and podcasts of Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Meet the Press.

We have pegged you as an “expat blogger” – so what do you blog about when it comes to the election?

I posted once about making my first every campaign donation (to the Obama campaign), again about Obama’s visit to Berlin, and twice about how the German media is covering the election (on Palin just after the vp debate and on the third presidential debate).

What are people saying about American politics in Germany where you live?

Germans are pretty much for Obama.  Actually, I think they are more just sick of Bush and his policies and want a change, and see Obama as more likely to bring about that change.  Germans I run into are usually very interested to know if I can vote in the election and whether I am voting for the “right” candidate.  I was just asked this exactly by the doctor at my child’s checkup yesterday.  I asked what she meant by “right,” and she said, “Well isn’t there clearly a right and a wrong choice there?”  My German husband volunteered that there definitely is a “wrong” choice.  I assured her I made the “right” choice.

Another example: On the local radio station yesterday morning (Bayern3), quite a bit of time was spent making fun of Sarah Palin, from her abstinence education beliefs, to her $150,000 wardrobe, to the fact that she considers being able to see Russia from Alaska as foreign policy experience (that came with a big guffaw).  A US expert was then brought on to explain the existence of Americans who believe in her and discuss what it is in their backgrounds that allow them to identify with her.  Along with Caribou Barbie, here she has the nickname “Das Dummchen von Alaska,” which translates as “The Silly/Naive Girl from Alaska.”

Still, I think many Germans are worried that Obama won’t win.  I hear a lot of discussion of the Bradley Effect and whether America is really ready for a black president, and also about the possibility of, as a political pundit recently put it, an extreme external event changing tide of the election.  The Madrid Train Bombings and their effect on the Spanish elections are still fresh in people’s minds here in Europe.  They think he will win, but all say that you never know what will happen.

What is the general sense of how we are perceived?

I think, as individuals, Americans are well-perceived.  It’s the administration that’s disliked, and there is an incomprehension of how enough of the American public could have voted to reelect Bush.

What are you hearing from your friends and family stateside?

Sadly, I’ve heard repeated many of the mistruths going around about Obama, that he is a Muslim and an Arab terrorist.  I’ve done my best to persuade family members otherwise.  I’ve also heard worry that the defense industry and defense contractors (who employ a lot of northern Virginians) would suffer under Obama.

Do you wish you were here during this election season?

I’m pretty happy that I’ve been able to view the election thus far from a distance.  Especially in Virginia, I imagine if I was home, I would have been constantly inundated by campaign ads.  That being said, I’m very excited to be going home for a visit tomorrow and I’m looking forward to being there for the election.

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this up.  My desktop died, I’ve got a stone age laptop (can you spell S-L-O-W) and then we didn’t have internet for most of the weekend.

This time I chose two articles from the main news magazines of Germany, Focus and Spiegel.  Actually, the one lucky thing about getting this up late, is that Spiegel put up an English language article on the 3rd debate, with translations of other German coverage, so the Focus article is translated by me for you, and the Spiegel article is quoted.

• FOCUS-Online: McCain attacks - and losesIn the light of his depressing poll numbers, McCain stepped aggressively into the ring. In the third and last TV debate before the US election, he tackled Obama hard at every opportunity. It did not apparently help him.

  It is the calm before the storm. With friendly smiles, John McCain and Barack Obama approach each other after moderator Bob Schieffer asked them on stage. But already at the mutual shoulder pats, one notices the enormous strain the candidates in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, are under. When both take their places, face to face, in enormous gray chairs at a round wooden table, their smiles only look put on and aggrieved.

  The pressure rests primarily on John McCain. In light of the most recent polls, in which he in part lags, apparently hopelessly, up to twelve percentage points behind his democratic opponent Barack Obama, the third and last TV debate before the US presidential election on 4 November is his last chance to be presented to the nation. McCain knows that he can change course only if he can sway the undecided voters to his side.

  However the 72 year old, who presents himself so willingly as the underdog, as a “Maverick,” who has already mastered some hopeless situations, has two large problems. First, the majority of Americans trust, in view of the present financial downswing, in the crisis management of Barack Obama. On the other side, his most recent attacks on Obama’s reliability proved a non-starter. While Obama’s reputation rose, McCain’s character values fell into the cellar.

  McCain continues attack strategy

  “Tell the people this evening there outside, what they have not yet heard,” requested CBS veteran Schieffer, anchor of “Face the Nation,” of the two candidates at the beginning of the debate and entered immediately into the all determining election campaign topic: the economy, the current financial crisis. The fight for the middle class brought no really new revelations (McCain wants to come to the aid of homeowners in crisis with 300 billion dollars, Obama pleaded for directed reductions of taxes, among other things for businesses that create jobs), only a first high point of verbal blows.

  When Obama repeated the denouncement of the economic policy of the current government, McCain in all clarity dissociated himself from his party colleague in the White House: “I am not George W. Bush. If you wanted to run against Bush, you should have run four years ago,” taunted McCain. Obama’s counter, that McCain however always supported the Bush Administration in key questions, felt far less than indignant. However, the Senator from Illinois could not stop himself from adding that his opponent was always “an ardent supporter” of Bush.

  The debate only came properly into full swing, however, when moderator Schieffer came to speak of the dirty campaigning of the past weeks. The accusations on both sides are identical. Both McCain and Obama deplore the aggressive and condescending tone of the other side in TV and radio ads. “Your campaign ads are 100% negative. These spots say more about you and your election campaign than about me,” railed Obama, who again mocked Sarah Palin’s inflamatory accusations that he is a terrorist. “That has nothing to do with a substantive discussion.”

  The word terrorism came, however, very conveniently for McCain. As announced in the run-up before the debate, he severely criticized Obama’s connection to former bomber Bill Ayres, putting the Democrat into the vicinity of terrorism. Obama must urgently clarify and consider his relationship with the former radical leftist, who committed attacks in the 60s while protesting the Vietnam war.

  No comment on Palin

  Obama answered calmly, he was just eight years old when Ayers committed the attacks. Anyway, Ayers, who today is a professor for education sciences at the University of Chicago, has nothing at all to do with his campaign. “Ayers was never involved in my campaign, and he will also not advise me in the White House. “

  With all his attacks, McCain tried to leave a calm, controlled and collected impression. That did not always succeed. During some of Obama’s answers, he distorted his face, laughing condescendingly. Quite often interrupting his adversary. Also, Obama could not resist one or the other derisive facial expressions, but preserved in direct comparison nevertheless as far as possible his composure. To Schieffer’s question of what he of thinks of McCain’s “running mate” Sarah Palin, he answered succinctly: “The voters must decide that.”

  Poll sees Obama in lead

  Almost halfway through the 90-minute debate, the tone at the round table became much calmer. With domestic topics such as abortion, the health care system or educational policy, McCain is simply missing targets. A further handicap for the senator from Arizona: his two core competency fields foreign- and national security policy were virtually not an issue.

  And so went the first surveys after the third televised debate of Barack Obama: 58 percent (McCain 31) see the 47-year-old as the clear winner, according to a CNN quick-poll. With sympathy values, the result is, with 70 to 22 percent, even worse. Thus, McCain probably squandered his last chance. His strategy, to tackle Obama hard, appears initially to have failed. Still he has 19 days left to turn the tide. Because the balance is only settled at the end: in this case on 4 November.

• Spiegel International: A Last Chance to Halt Obama’s Climb

  Eyes were glued to the third and final televised face-off between presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama this week. But with only 17 days until election day, will McCain’s performance stoke his chances against front-runner Obama? Many German commentators are skeptical. (read more…)

  […]

  Spiegel Online’s Marc Pitzke writes:

  “In the end, with this debate McCain — in the absence of unforeseeable events — has gambled away his best and perhaps last chance to halt Obama’s climb. He fought back bravely — and better than ever. But, the sum total was still not enough. All the subsequent flash polls crowned Obama as the debate’s winner. Normally, such values are of fleeting importance. This time, however, they are decisive. The third debate in Hampstead on Long Island was considered the ‘point of no return,’ as even one of McCain’s people in the press center said, though admittedly off the record.”

  […]

  The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

  “McCain has also lost the last television debate against Barack Obama. The Republican US presidential candidate didn’t succumb to the Democrats because he had worse arguments regarding the economy. … In recent weeks Obama simply managed to evoke more confidence among the voters — and confidence is tantamount to hard currency in times of crisis.”

  “It is curious that Obama may win the presidency on the basis of the economy of all things. After all, in his speeches across America the Democrat seems to be speaking to a country which no longer exists. … Obama’s program is a program of moderate wealth redistribution. A program with a feel-good factor. A program for an America which is not in the throes of a financial crisis.”

  “After the election a possible President Obama would have to react to the real America: a country with an enormous debt burden plus a costly bank rescue plan. A country in which there is not a lot left to redistribute.”

  The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

  “McCain has left a better impression than in the two previous debates with Obama. Three weeks before the general election, that’s not bad news for the Republican senator. Still, new polls show Obama with a 7 to 14 point advantage, and the debate doesn’t appear to have changed that. Nevertheless, as good as the trend seems to be for the first-ever black nominee, it would be premature to write off McCain. There are good reasons to believe that the dirty campaign that the McCain/Palin team has conducted in the last 10 days, may still pay off on election day. The slogan ‘Barack Obama - too risky for America,’ vice-candidate Sarah Palin’s effort to link Obama with terrorists and her remarks that he doesn’t see the country like ‘you and me’ — that is all openly racist, as racist as the 2008 election campaign can become.”

  “When McCain is confronted about such moments he gives a wide-eyed impression of the shocked innocent. But this trend of over-stepping the mark is naturally planned — and in keeping with an approach that McCain evidently perceives as his last chance: that voters still, perhaps in the anonymity of the voting cabin, will succumb to their fears about voting for an African-American candidate.”

  The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

  “The last of the three debates hasn’t changed anything in the basic dynamic of the presidential election. John McCain, the Republican, will not be able to make up his shortfall, not even with a dirty campaign …”

  “In times of economic crisis, voters tend to back Democrats rather than Republicans. Americans, especially the swing voters in the middle, have seen their doubts about Obama vanish. The unknown man with the foreign-sounding name no longer triggers fear. Meanwhile, doubts about McCain, the supposedly well-known veteran, are on the rise …”

  “McCain’s helpers have caused chaos. The have piled McCain with message after message. First McCain called his competitor Obama ‘inexperienced,’ then ‘unreliable.’ Now he is being billed as a safety risk because he was once acquainted with a former terrorist. The impression this gives is that McCain is an old grumbler, he doesn’t know what he wants or where he’s going. In times of crisis though, voters want reliability.”

  “In the recent weeks’ financial mayhem, Obama kept his cool in contrast to a jittery McCain. That impresses Americans. They would rather trust Obama to solve the problems of their country. Something astonishing will have to happen for Obama to fritter away this confidence before the election.”

When I started this series, I thought it would be easy for me to compare the German media coverage to the American media coverage.  In reality, this has proved tough.  It seems fair to me, but it’s what I’m exposed to, and as some of my US relations think, I’m a “liberal European” now.  I really don’t know how the election is being covered in the US.  From across the ocean, I’m not being bombarded with campaign ads and I don’t have to sit in the car with my brothers listening to the O’Reilly Factor. Maybe I’ll have something more interesting to add after I get to the US on October 30th.  Oh, by the way, I sent in my absentee ballot (I’ll let you guess who I cast my important Virginia vote for).  I will be there for election day, but it ends up to be a lot more of a hassle to cancel my absentee ballot and be cleared for going to the voting booth than I want to deal with.  So maybe the next election will be my first visit to the voting booth.

So, have you got any thoughts on the election so far?  I do have to add that I think McCain’s strategy is appalling.  He should immediately condemn people yelling “Terrorist” and “Kill him” at his and Sarah Palin’s rallies.  I thought his answer to this at the debate was disgusting.  Not all his followers were being accused of bad behavior, but he should recognize and condemn those who were.  What are your two cents?

Wondering what the main German media outlets are presenting regarding the 2008 US presidential election?  This new AmiExpat feature will appear weekly until the election.  This week we’ll look at two articles on the news sites of ARD and ZDF television stations, from which most Germans get their nightly news.  I’ve picked a recent article from each site, the first is a commentary, the second is a report.  For those who can read German, the articles are linked in the titles, for those who can’t, here are my translations (so don’t blame the simple language on the author, that’d be me):

• ARD Tagesschau: Sarah Palin: John McCain’s Shoddy Selection

  John McCain wanted to bedazzle the political landscape with her.  Sarah Palin stands on the one side for ultra conservative family values, on the other side she is an economic reformer.  At 44 years old, she also provides a good counterbalance to the almost 30 years older Republican presidential candidate.  That fits McCain well in concept.  The Governor of Alaska has - as one would say it in Germany - “Pedigree.”  She has what one needs to be a figurehead for Republicans.  When her name was called at the RNC in St. Paul, the delegates cheered.  She represents opinions that are well-received by the Republican base and in evangelical circles.  She is a radical pro-lifer, is for abstinence until marriage and on top of everything, is the mother of five children.  She acts like she talks, gush her admirers.

  How intensive did McCain examine his VP candidate?

  The Governor herself has now realized that the USA is not Alaska.  Those who rise quickly, can also fall far.  So far, Palin hasn’t fallen, only stumbled.  One can’t blame her for the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.  But one can blame her that she did not provide this information in a timely manner.  She must have known how the American public would react about this. That furthermore, in her home state, an investigation of the Governor for abuse of position is underway, doesn’t make her situation more comfortable.

  Questions must first and foremost fall on John McCain:  How intensively did he look at the candidate for vice president, scrutinize her resume?  Reportedly, he only spoke with her at length once, before he heaved her onto the ticket.

  Neither experience in national nor in international politics

  McCain has, with his personal choice, received a lot of approval from the ranks.  Still, approval fades fast.  Already, not even a week later, it is shown that the choice of Palin was absolutely populist.  The Governor of Alaska has neither experience in national nor in international politics.  If something should happen to the possible President McCain, his replacement could tomorrow be head of the White House.  Even many conservative Americans are afraid of this.

  The discussion over the pregnancy of her underage daughter, that is now reported above all in the American media, is an unsurpassed hypocrisy.  It shows how self-righteous a wide portion of American society is.  The pregnant daughter should not be the problem for Sarah Palin, but rather the questionable programs that she supported and with which young people are held to sexual abstinence.  American politicians should stay out of such topics and leave them to clergymen and churches.

• ZDFheute: “Pitbull in Heels” - Palin’s Terrorism Charge of Obama

  Republicans descend to attack

  Sarah Palin descends to attacks: The Republican Vice Presidential Candidate accuses the Democratic Presidential Candidate Obama of having delivered himself to terrorists.  “Heels on, gloves off,” her staff have recommended.Palin accused Barack Obama of having kept in contact with terrorists.  The Governor of Alaska has now “let her inner pitbull off the line,” commented the “Los Angeles Times” on the verbal attack.  She herself had announced her offensive shortly before the election campaign meeting in Carson (California).  “The heels stay on, the gloves come off,” her campaign staff have recommended.

  Leftist Underground organization of the 70’s

  Palin accused Obama of regarding “America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who would bomb their own country.”*  At the same time she referred to an article in the “New York Times,” which reports on the acquaintance of Obama with Bill Ayers, the joint founder of the Weathermen. The left radical underground organization committed attacks on US Government buildings in the 70’s, but lost then with the end of the Vietnam war, its political objectives.

  In allusion to accusations regarding her own newspaper reading, Palin said: “I believe, there is a large interest in what I read.” In the Saturday edition of the “New York Times,” she read with interest about “Barack’s friends from Chicago” and that “one the earliest supporters” of the black presidential candidate was a “homegrown Terrorist.” “Those are the same people, who believe that patriotism means paying higher taxes,” continued the Gouvernor of Alaska.

  “Diverting from the Financial Crisis”

  Obama’s election campaign team declared Palin’s utterances “offensive.” Nevertheless they were not surprising, since Palin and the Republican presidential candidate John McCain obviously want to divert attention from the financial crisis, through which they would have suffered heavy losses in popular support. “What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy,”* said Obama campaign speaker Hari Sevugan.

  The “Washington Post” had already reported that McCain’s campaign staff want, due to the negative poll numbers resulting from the financial crisis, to attack the competitor more strongly regarding his character, his decisions and his personal connections.

Finally, some short takes from other news outlets on the Vice Presidential debate.  The Spiegel article is in English.

• Spiegel.de International: ‘She Stopped the Hemorrhage’: Palin Saves Her Skin While Biden Avoids Gaffes
  It wasn’t a disaster. Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin survived her debate with her calm and controlled counterpart Joe Biden. But it’s unlikely to have been enough to narrow the gap that has opened up between Barack Obama and John McCain in the polls. read more…
• FAZ.net: Sarah Palin und Joseph Biden: Eine Debatte mit zwei Siegern
  At Frankfurter Allgemein, the headline reads, “A debate with 2 winners.”  The article concludes that Sarah Palin far exceeded expectations and has presented herself once more as the young, attractive face of the Republican Party, while Joe Biden had perhaps the best debate performance of his life.  zum Artikel…
• Stern.de: Die Wiederauferstehung der Sarah Palin
  The Stern news magazine article, “The Resurrection of Sarah Palin,” discusses the expectations game and how well the McCain-Palin ticket plays it. zum Artikel…
• Welt.de English: TV-Duell: Palin rettet ihren Ruf mit Volksnähe und Floskeln
  Welt Online’s, “TV-Duel: Palin saves her reputation with populism and flowery speech,” concludes that Biden was self-confident and prepared, while Sarah Palin’s belief in herself is unshakable, even when she was not  zum Artikel…

So what do you think of the German media’s coverage of the election?  Has it been fair?  Has anything surprised you?  Know of any good German political blogs?

* Not translated, taken directly from the LA Times article: Sarah Palin claims Barack Obama would ‘pal around with terrorists’.

Things are really piling up here in the AmiExpat household.  I’ve got about 4 loads of laundry to do (I resorted to sticking Oliver in some of his next-size-up clothing for playgroup today since all his current-size stuff is in the hamper) plus I gotta proofread an article for a close to my heart German scientist, and I somehow need to Ready, Set, Cook lunch today, cause we really don’t have a fridge full of stuff that easily lends itself to coming up with something to make.  And despite my workload, where am I?  I’m online messing around.

I recently added a fabulous oatmeal cookie recipe to the site.  When adding recipes, I will now focus on making metric conversion easy for you guys, and I will also post the recipes in German.  My first Rezept auf Deutsch is Fabelhafte Dinkelflockenkekse mit Rosinen, Datteln und Walnüsse.  Time permitting, I will update all the other recipes to these standards.

Just a reminder, since I know a ton of expat bloggers were at the Whiney Expat Blogger Meet Up this weekend, about my Off the Beaten Path challenge.  I’m thinking of making a logo to put on your posts that will link back to the main Off the Beaten Path travel guide page, but that of course, requires time.

Finally, I’m going to be updating my links in the semi-near future and want your help.  If you could only read 3 blogs/sites about expats, Germany, Europe, or international affairs (trying to include all my reader’s here, I know some of you guys aren’t expats), which 3 would you choose (excluding my site too).  I’m looking for links that would be of special interest to my readers, but I’m also interested in things I’d be interested to follow, so I want to see what you would follow.  So let me know in the comments!