McCain Mocks "Fawning Germans"

For the McCain campaign, the fact that a quarter of a million Germans turned out to see and listen to Barack Obama in Berlin is proof that Obama hates America and hates the troops. This was the statement through a McCain spokesperson:

"You know, it really speaks to the experience that Barack Obama lacks," Bounds told Fox News."He prioritizes throngs of fawning Germans over meeting with wounded combat troops in Germany," Bounds said.

The statement was immediately picked up in the German media, although the some editors diverged on the translation of "fawning Germans".  Der Spiegel went with "kriecherische Deutsche", as did the Financial Times Deutschland ("McCain kritisiert Obama-Besuch bei kriecherischen Deutschen"). The Sueddeutsche Zeitung simply used "kriecherische Deutsche" as the title of its article, where it also commented that McCain just can't get over Germany's refusal to join in the invasion of Iraq:

"Kriecherische Deutsche? Der McCain-Sprecher kann offenbar die Irakkrieg-Absage der Deutschen nicht verwinden. Und so greift er Obama an.."

Other news outlets- including the mass circulation Bild-Zeitung translated "throngs of fawning Germans" as „Haufen unterwürfige Deutsche“ - which has more a connotation of "obsequious".

Meanwhile, other outlets noted that McCain was insulting the Germans while he stepped up his rhetoric against the Russians: "McCain attakiert im US-Wahlkampf Deutsche und Russen". No doubt mocking Germans and Russians plays well with the xenophobic wing of the Republican Party.  But McCain's hostile pronouncements against Russia in particular are a bad omen of what a McCain presidency could mean for Europe.

UPDATE: Ugly Old American Insults Good-Looking Young Germans.

Comments

[Hattie]

Of all the things one could say about Obama's trip to Europe, that has to be about the stupidest. McCain is incredible.

[erphschwester]

solange die deutschen bei anderen amerikanern "gekrochen" sind, war´s aber ganz recht.

[Markus Dorst]

WOW - 250,000 "fawning Germans". If I were living in Berlin and not in Bonn, I'd have been one of them. Unfortunately I had to "fawn" in front of the TV, when America's hopeful made his nice but not very detailed speech.

Anyway - ANY candidate who shows some promise NOT to continue Dubya's devastating politics is an improvement. GO, OBAMA

[David]

Wer "kriecht" denn fuer John McCain? Niemand!

He's running a pathetic campaign, so far.

[Wintermute]

The funny thing is, that some of these newspapers will inevitably run their "Why [Republican candidate] is better for Germany than [Democratic candidate]" pieces in a few months time. This as been done with Bush over Gore, Bush over Kerry and it will be done with McCain over Obama.

[antonymous]

McCain the military aristocrat, who eradicated Vietnamese villages with napalm and later when captured, liked to run a regular radio show for the Vietcong. He really knows everything about treason and conscience.

If that kind of person really gets elected, it'll be pretty much over the US..

[Mc Cain]

Mc Cain.... who is Mc Cain???

[G Masters]

Thank you Mccain, with this attitude on foreign nations and diplomacy skill ( lack of) you lost a vote / there's other reasons of course. As an american in Germany I have to hear again how arrogant and stupid we are for another six months. Get some new advisors and pre edit your speeches for a global view at least.

[leftclicK]

Last but not least it should be said that the Department of Defense rather objected Obama's meeting with wounded soldiers. No matter what he does, he has to be wrong all the way...