Gerbamia

This is the new word I coined for the collective thoughts and feelings of Germans toward the Obamas. Many fellow Americans have asked me some version of the following in the past year: "What do Germans think about Obama?" Sometimes added on, "Are they as crazy about him as we are?" Then they make it personal: "Do you feel a little better being an American abroad?" Sometimes they jump directly, by way of assumption, to, "Bet the US has a better reputation abroad now that we have the Obama administration."

All I can say is that, according to Die Zeit, a major German newspaper, (Link for those who read German), Obama is appearing to Germans in their dreams. One woman in this article describes getting into a car with Obama; she didn't know why, but there was a "clear sense of departure." Another dreamer discovers a check for 300,000 € in the back pocket of her jeans - signed by Michelle Obama. On a similar note, a middle-aged man dreamed he received a job offer from the US president. His new role? To help Obama understand the hearts and minds of the Germans.

But as with all things German, this enthusiasm is tempered with some sobriety. Before the November 2008 election, as Obama was leading the polls, Germans kept saying, "Well, even if he makes it, he's gonna got shot." This is just an indication of how desperately the world needed a leader to give us a little more hope and faith. Luckily, I don't hear this fear/comment any more.

But the skepticism has lingered in other forms; Germans are very hesitant, for example, to embrace the charisma that Obama possesses. The caution comes from fact that the most charismatic German leader on the books is also the one responsible for millions of brutally ended lives. (Here is a clear explanation of how a ban on political rhetoric and pomp and circumstance got written into the German constitution post-Hitler.) Therefore, modern Germans are used to politicians who are (lifeless), matter-of-fact reciters of their positions. So no matter how much Obama proves to be a man of his word, Germans will hold his rhetorical prowess against him to some degree.

By the same principle, many Germans were grotesquely fascinated watching the unprecedented ceremony surrounding Obama's ascension to office. In fact, I would wager to say that Obama's being sworn in captured significantly more TV viewers than a major event leading up to next week's German general election: the formal debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her contender, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It isn't that Germans don't care about domestic politics or don't want to know where Merkel and Steinmeier stand. It is just that politics in Germany is far more about parties than about individuals, so a TV duel is contrived in the first place. And, as Obama was taking his oath, I do think a lot of emotion - whether permitted or not - welled up in the collective German Geist.

(That this essay leaves out how Germans view Obama's individual policies is intentional. Each topic could be a blog entry in itself: health care, Afghanistan, economic stimulus policies, actions against global warming... Suffice to say what is obvious to anyone with a few ounces of grey matter: a welcome departure from the white man with the cowboy hat.)

THE MONICA SONG - now available in English!

(Translated from the original German. See copyright information at the end.)

Monica, hey,
oh had you stayed,
on 'til today,
as an intern in Washington.
and had you fancied to
rendezvous with "W" -
then lickety split, (Wahoo!)
he'd finally be ...on the run.

Because voters are consistent
and not the least indifferent
on the topic of the instant:
moral values and what God allows.
The head-of-state has a green light
to wage some wars, tell a few lies,
and break all diplomatic ties,
if he never breaks his wedding vows.

That set of skirmishes way over in the Gulf States
generates destruction and big deficits,
and yet not the man's impeachment.
There's no fancy out of bounds 'cept - God forbid - he fool around
Modus operandi : "Make war, not love!"
The Prez's Day of Reckoning won't come to be
until he is suspected of adultery.

***

The people'd call out, "Shame on
you. You are a traitor!"
and "Confess at once!" "Betrayal!"
"Our trust in you has hit a low."
Then every detail of the romance
would find its way into the news stands
and from there into the hands
of every gossip, critic, and talk show host.

Then we'd see Ken Starr on replay,
mudslingers in their heyday.
And Iraq and - even - Al Queda,
'd fade from news to history.
We'd see Bush would feel compelled
to hang his head, throw in his towel.
And just think how very swell:
we would all breathe so much easier!

Monica, in your hands you hold the trump card.
The choice is not hard.
The time has come to send him back to Houston.*
I know he may not be your type. But if you say,
"I'll do it if your price is right."
You would get ...
... a flood of contributions!

***

"Fuck Bush," that's what you see,
expressed so candidly,
from Berlin down to Paris,
sprayed on buildings, in alleyways.
I won't say that's in good taste.
I wouldn't say it to his face.
Still I'm begging you, make haste,
Monica, do it anyways.

German lyrics copyright Bodo Wartke 2005. To see the original, go to www.bodowartke.de, then 1. Click on 'Zum Lesen' on the lefthand side, 2. For the second albumn from the top (Live in Berlin) click on 'Titelliste aufrufen,' and 3. Go to track number 28 and click on 'Text anzeigen.' Then learn German!
To hear the melody of the song, look at his performance broadcast on YouTube.

*The capital of Texas is actually Austin, but nevermind.