Matthias Stephan Fifka: McCain is likely to loose the US presidential election. Though his bad luck of having to follow the current Republican presidency is also a factor, he has made fatal mistakes in his campaign. Abrupt strategy changes, his pick of Sarah Palin for VP, and negative campaign ads were all part of his own demise.
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Wolfgang Ischinger: The transatlantic relationship will benefit from a kind of renaissance when the next US president is elected. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for US demands, Europe should actively develop strategic initiatives and explain European priorities to the US.
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Obama has achieved astonishing levels of popularity abroad. ++ Foreigners, however, had better temper their excitement. ++ A “skilled tactician,” Obama tends to shrewdly adapt his discourse to his audience and since, if elected, he would in any case be constrained by a heavily Democratic Congress, chances are “what they see is not precisely what they will get.” ++ Most importantly, Obama still
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Although countless events and demonstrations have taken place at the gate, Obama’s intention to hold a speech divides the German political elite. ++ Merkel’s disapproval is thought to be due to her closer ties to the conservatives across the Atlantic and her East German preference for “right-wing and rather gruff figures of American politics.” ++ Most Germans however would gladly see Obama be
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The planned speech of Presidential candidate Barack Obama in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin threatens to turn into a provincial farce. ++ Unlike Washington D.C., where the US federal government decides who can speak at the nation’s political sanctuaries, in Berlin, local and federal politicians use the invitation for political profiling purposes. ++ Berlin’s mayor wants to play in the
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Hillary Clinton has admitted defeat, as for Obama, the battle has only just begun. ++ This year’s US Presidential campaign rotates on an axis between character and experience. ++ McCain offers the American people know-how, while Obama guarantees hope. ++ Recent polls have shown that the candidates are neck and neck. ++ What is it the American people want, or rather, need? ++ The message of
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In the prospect of US presidential elections all three candidates distance themselves from President Bush and promise more multilateralism in foreign policy and therefore burden sharing. ++ They forget that the US is the only hegemonic power and that the international community rests under the security umbrella of the US. ++ The next administration’s foreign policy will not be much more
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Although the US’s economic and political difficulties have rarely been so acute, all of the candidates for president are selling simple answers that don’t exist. ++ Neither McCain’s version of military victory in Iraq nor Clinton’s and Obama’s promise to bring the troops home no matter what happens are realistic. ++ Unless an honest debate is restored, post-inauguration
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