An Election Goes Abroad- July 15, 2008 "Odd." That's what German Chancellor Angela Merkel said when told of Barack Obama's plan to deliver a major campaign speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, right where the Berlin Wall used to be, where Ronald Reagan once famously called upon Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall," and not far from where John F. Kennedy declared, "Ich bin ein Berliner" -- "I am a Berliner" -- to show his solidarity with the inhabitants of what used to be a divided city. One can see her...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071401844.html?nav=r... Nationalism Gets Its Kicks- July 1, 2008 Myself, I was rooting for Spain in the finals: The Spanish economy is in the doldrums at the moment, and I thought a win might cheer up the Spaniards -- which it did, judging by Sunday's post-victory all-night street party. My son, however, was rooting for Germany: This, paradoxically, is because he is half-Polish, and two of the German players are actually Poles, born in Poland, who speak Polish to one another on the field. One of them -- Lukas Podolski -- scored both of the goals during the...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063001906.html?nav=r... |