Which of the two statements are going to get more play over there?

USA bad?

Europe needs to change?

Well, I can't honestly answer that question since I don't live over there.

Probably depends on which channel you are watching.

 

I have seen more coverage of Michele's clothing choices on MSNBC than anything.

:laugh::laugh: That is getting a little annoying.

If there is truth in both of them then what does it matter which receives more play?

 

Easy, the message from our President that Europe needs to change doesn't get any play because America bad gets all the play than that message of needing changes is missed.

Easy, the message from our President that Europe needs to change doesn't get any play because America bad gets all the play than that message of needing changes is missed.

It also seems that it is getting more play on this side of the Atlantic than what the President said about Europe.

It also seems that it is getting more play on this side of the Atlantic than what the President said about Europe.

 

I agree and therein lies the problem.

Two right messages but the one is going to overwhelm the other.

Easy, the message from our President that Europe needs to change doesn't get any play because America bad gets all the play than that message of needing changes is missed.

 

And if the general temperament among Europeans is that the United States is arrogant why would they be receptive to being told to change by an American President? At the least, the concession that the US isn’t always correct or makes mistakes may make them more conducive to accepting the change argument. Either way, if they both are true then what is the fuss?

And if the general temperament among Europeans is that the United States is arrogant why would they be receptive to being told to change by an American President? At the least, the concession that the US isn’t always correct or makes mistakes may make them more conducive to accepting the change argument. Either way, if they both are true then what is the fuss?

 

See any of the whackos taking this as fuel to their fire,justification that they were right with their terror attacks, and that the US needs to be continued to be taken to the woodshed, so to speak.

See any of the whackos taking this as fuel to their fire,justification that they were right with their terror attacks, and that the US needs to be continued to be taken to the woodshed, so to speak.

 

:confused: They wouldn't be doing the same thing if he had only said Europe needs to change? The problem with citing "whackos" is that everything fuels their fire.

:confused: They wouldn't be doing the same thing if he had only said Europe needs to change? The problem with citing "whackos" is that everything fuels their fire.

 

Europe needs to change does not play as excitingly as the President saying USA bad.

That is a comment I would have expected Biden to slip up and say.

Europe needs to change does not play as excitingly as the President saying USA bad.

That is a comment I would have expected Biden to slip up and say.

 

He didn't say that the US is bad.

He didn't say that the US is bad.

 

I agree. But that is how it is going to play to those that want it to play that way because it is close enough.

 

Bush got tripped up that way several times. Said one thing, other side whether domestic or abroad played it the other way.

President Obama also stated that Europe needs to stop the Anti American sentiments. Also the French President stated that his country owes a lot to the United States. He brought up that thousands of Americans are buried in France. He mentioned D-Day and that there is going to be a special ceremony on 6 June 09.

 

My son was able to travel to France and tour Normandy Beach with his college a few years ago. The pictures he took of the cemetary and of Normandy beach were very moving.

I agree. But that is how it is going to play to those that want it to play that way because it is close enough.

 

Bush got tripped up that way several times. Said one thing, other side whether domestic or abroad played it the other way.

 

"Those that want it to play that way" will turn everything to their advantage, regardless of what is said or not said.

My son was able to travel to France and tour Normandy Beach with his college a few years ago. The pictures he took of the cemetary and of Normandy beach were very moving.

I've seen some. They are very moving indeed.

I'd suggest we all read the speech in its entirety and not snippets.

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-President-Obama-at-Strasbourg-Town-Hall/

 

 

Such an effort is never easy. It's always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone, or to wait for the action of somebody else. It's more difficult to break down walls of division than to simply allow our differences to build and our resentments to fester. So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we've allowed our Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into our relationship. In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

 

But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.

 

On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.

 

So I've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies, but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden. Together, we must forge common solutions to our common problems.

 

So let me say this as clearly as I can: America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes. We are confronting the greatest economic crisis since World War II. The only way to confront this unprecedented crisis is through unprecedented coordination.