JOLLY DAYS

How the Germans See Obama

This interesting op-ed says the Germans may seem to be enthusiastic about Obama but are too jaded to empathize with his message. Susan Neiman says that there is a disdain for his rhetoric and a private cackling at his putative Messiah aura.

Conflating what appears to be the theme of her book — to judge from the title, “Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists.” — and Obama's ideas, she says,

The mocking undertone that accompanies most descriptions of Mr. Obama in the European news media signifies a trans-Atlantic divide…the neoconservatives…were right about one thing: Europe is gripped by a world-weariness that resists American dreams….Mr. Obama’s speech gave Europeans a chance to hear the difference between optimism and idealism. Optimists [her view of European sensibilities] refuse to acknowledge reality. Idealists [her take on Obama] remind us that it isn’t fixed.

It is a Procrustean endeavor to fit a national mindset to a singularity of viewpoint — just doesn't quite feel right — even if it is provocative.