A German journalist tells me Senator Barack Obama is now looking to speak at the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. Previously there had been rumors as to where the Democratic candidate would address his Teutonic fans. Perhaps at the Branderburg Gate where Reagan told Mr. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”? Or the Rathaus Schöneberg where Kennedy told everyone he was a jelly doughnut? But why live up to someone else’s legacy when you can create your own-as a candidate, no less? (Chancellor Angela Merkel was also skeptical about the Brandenburg location.) And in case you’re wondering, this is not the square where the Nazis infamously burned books in 1933 (that would be Bebelplatz up the street). The Dorling Kindersley travel guide calls the Gendarmenmarkt “one of Berlin’s most beautiful squares, created at the end of the 17th century as a market square…. It is named after the Regiment Gens d’Armes who had their stables here.” But something tells me after the speech it will be called Obamamarkt.
