Excitement Growing in Germany as Obama Speech Nears

After much debate, presumptive US presidential candidate Barack Obama will speak in front of Berlin’s Victory Column on Thursday.
"Obamania" in Germany is now in full swing as the country awaits a political rock star.

For Monika Staffel, wearing an "Obama for President" button is nothing unusual, even though she's a German citizen and won't be voting in the US presidential election this November. This election is too important to stay on the sidelines, she said.

"We are waiting urgently for change because Bush has caused a lot of damage in the world,“ the 46-year-old from western Germany said after visiting a stand two American Obama supporters had set up in Berlin's central Gendarmenmarkt square.

"Now we want to know more about Obama's positions and we're very sad that we can't be here in Berlin on the 24th to listen to his speech," she added. "But we'll be following it very closely in the media."

Staffel reflects the views of many Germans who are enthusiastic supporters of the presumptive Democratic candidate, and are eagerly awaiting his appearance this Thursday in Berlin, when he will make a speech in front of Berlin's Victory Column.

If the US presidential election were decided by German voters, Obama could probably cut back on his breakneck campaign schedule. A survey released by the Pew Research Center showed that Germans prefer the senator from Illinois over the Republican candidate, John McCain, by a 49 percent margin.

Building excitement

"There is a great passion for a new America in Europe and Barack Obama is the object of that adulation," said Robin Hemingway, the founder of Americans in Berlin-Brandenburg for Obama, a group whose aim is to register as many Americans as possible before the November elections.

Democrats Abroad has been working to get Americans in Germany registered to vote

While the excitement about Obama has been bubbling for months, "Obamania" has moved into high gear especially after the presumptive candidate announced his overseas trip with a stop in Berlin.

Hemingway, 67, said he has been contacted by people who are coming to Berlin this week from German cities like Frankfurt and Rostock and places further afield such as Prague and Budapest. They are not just American expats, he said, many Germans are making the trip, too.

"Germans accept him like a rock-star," he said. "It's like he made their favorite album and they want to come and see him. I've never seen that here before."

The group Democrats Abroad reports record high interest levels among Americans. Over the last six months, its membership rolls have doubled, the organization said. The Berlin chapter said Americans from the Netherland and Switzerland were coming to the speech, and to volunteer. The chapter has been calling for members to help out with its voter registration drive at the event.

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3499105,00.html

Good to hear and completely expected. Will MSM cover?