July 20, 2008
Is Barack Obama's speech site tainted by Nazi past?
Spiegel Online notes:
"The Siegessäule in Berlin was moved to where it is now by Adolf Hitler. He saw it as a symbol of German superiority and of the victorious wars against Denmark, Austria and France," the deputy leader of the Free Democrats, Rainer Brüderle, told Bild am Sonntag. He raised the question as to "whether Barack Obama was advised correctly in his choice of the Siegessäule as the site to hold a speech on his vision for a more cooperative world."
Thomas Lifson adds:
Will Obama scrap yet another speech site? It is a no-win situation for him. If he stays, he invites comparisons, but if he reatreats again, he looks weak or inexperienced and prone to blunders.