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Be Obama’s European Tour Guide Contest

By Larry Johnson on December 21, 2007 at 5:41 PM in Current Affairs

Calvin Coolidge hearts Senator Obama. Why? Because if Obama is elected President he will be the first president since the reign of Calvin Coolidge who has not visited Europe. What would we say about John Edwards or Joe Biden, for example, if they had chaired the Foreign Relations subcommittee on African affairs but never visited Africa or held a single hearing? This is not simple nitpicking of Obama.  It goes to the heart of the matter in judging whether he is ready for prime time. His failure to show even a shred of leadership despite chairing the Subcommittee on European Affairs for the Senate Foreign Relations committee is stunning. As Susan UnPC wrote last week:

That subcommittee oversees “U.S. involvement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), relations with the European Union (EU), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Matters relating to Greenland and the northern polar region are also the responsibility of this subcommittee.”

So, just to cover our bets, I am running a contest designed to help Obama get ready for primetime. The contest is simple–In 200 words or less, tell us why you are the best person to take Obama to Europe, what you would show him, and why it is important. Contest ends 3 January 2008, at 7 p.m. eastern standard time.

First prize, apart from maybe getting to be Obama’s tour guide to Europe, includes the following:

Calvin Coolidge: A Biography (Signature Series)  

Calvin Coolidge: A Biography (Signature Series) by Donald R. McCoy and Katherine E. Speirs (Hardcover – Jun 2000)

Let's Roll  

Let’s Roll by Etta James, (Audio CD – May 6, 2003) (which features our own Robert “Taters” Murray).

And your choice of any book advertised on No Quarter.

I am going to recruit Steve Clemons, Jim Marcinkowski, and Susan as the judges. Get cracking kids.

I will deliver the winning submission to the Obama for President campaign.  Also, for you lawyers out there, can we collect frequent flyer miles and donate them to Obama (to help get him to Europe) without violating any campaign finance laws?

  • http://doublequotes.wordpress.com/ Charles Cameron (hipbone)

    Do we post our travel suggestions here?

  • Cee

    I can’t wait to read the answers. When many Black people that I know travel, they go to places where people look like them…places with flavah.

    One friend said “Why should I pay to go to Europe? I got that right here in the US.”

  • Donovan Fraser

    Who can afford to go to Europe anymore?
    You get absolutely raped in the exchange rate.
    i paid $22 for a lousy hamburger and if it wasn’t for having family who live there, The cost would have driven me bat shit.

    But it would definitely be in the best interest of a presidential candidate to have traveled. we already had one who didn’t and look how well that turned out…

  • Mr.Murder

    I’ve got a Coolidge/Dawes campaign button.

    Can he wear that to Europe if he goes?

  • hope4usa

    ok Larry,

    So tell us how you REALLY feel about Obama’s qualifications to be POTUS.

    • Cindy Barjak

      Larry. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are so misinformed. Obama has traveled extensively in Europe. You may want to read his biography if you care to learn some facts about the man.

      Is your blind support of Hillary clouding your judgment?

      Are you hoping for a position in her cabinet if god forbid she gets the nomination and wins the general?

      Any of the other democratic candidates would be a much better choice for POTUS in this critical time.

      I really am disheartened. I respected your opinion aand your courage in speaking out. No I just find you to be a very immature person with little depth. tthis entire “contest” is just juvenile.

      We have serious issues to deal with in this country. Frankly, your idotic slams of other candidates and the vitrol espoused by Susan PAC just makes me run from Hillary even faster than I already have been.

  • Guthman Bey

    Larry Johnson,
    I hope you are having fun brown-nosing for Hillary? Not that I am surprised. It was always clear that the Bush years were a bizaree interregnum that made strange bed-fellows, where Wilkerson appeared on the Amy Goodman Show, Wilson /Plame were liberal martyrs and so on. Now we are all reverting back to type and disgusting national security types such as yourselves get to do what you have always done best: jockey for perks and muddy the waters for the public.

    • http://NoQuarterUSA.net Larry Johnson

      truth be told I favor Edwards over Clinton. This much I do know, Obama is dangerous because of his ignorance and inexperience. You may feel differently. As long as you voice your opinion in a reasonable, rational way we can agree to disagree. Peace.

      • Shirin

        So, Larry, if you favour Edwards over Clinton (so do I, by the way), then why are you apparently supporting Hillary Clinton? Or does it just look that way?

      • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

        Agree with Shirin: If you support Edwards, why campaign for Clinton?

        Actually, I’d rather vote for Edwards than Clinton or Obama too.

        • TeakWoodKite

          Why campaign for Clinton? It is not a two way race yet and Obama will be the one with out a chair when the music stops?

        • http://www.evergreenpolitics.com shoephone

          Larry – I, too, would like to know your answer to that question — partly because I am an Edwards supporter and have no qualms whatsoever about going to bat for him in the caucus (even though WA State may be a moot point by the time we’ve seen the early state results.)

          Why not support your first choice in the primary/caucus? I think most people will rally around the whoever the nominee is.

      • wethornet

        truth be told I favor Edwards over Clinton.

        Ohhhhhhhh man. Now I am really confused.

        Larry, besides fleshing this out, s.v.p., who are some of the foreign policy team advising John Edwards?

      • Cindy Barjak

        You call your childish assertions and fabrications reasoned and rationale?

        Wow…

  • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

    Hey, could we donate frequent flyer miles to Bush to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, before Bush probably leads us into another unnecessary war over non-existent WMD? Although, on second thought, he might get the wrong message.

  • GR3

    London is a great place to start. The excellent British Museum still has the Lord Elgin Parthenon marbles, as well as other unbelievable keepsakes from the time of empire. A short tour should include where the senseless War of the Roses started.
    Rome has the marvelous Forum and just up the street, the entirely different white marble monument Mussolini built. The Vatican is worth a look-see.
    There are still concentration camps open to visitors and they can be quite memorable, especially the ‘ovens’.
    Having a background in law, I’m sure Obama would get more out of The Hague than most tourists. Perhaps not as much as Cheney…
    The Netherlands is a good example of public transportation that works. Fast and timely trains and buses that interconnect easily can seem like an alternate future for most Americans.
    Lastly, a visit to an American military base and it’s environs could put a face on America’s empire.
    These are my recommendations, but Obama should have a few professionals guiding him, not me!

  • Dee Loralei

    I do applaud y’alls obvious passion. And Susan, thanks for “reasons” post. I don’t at all agree that Hillary is as wonderful as you all seem to think, nor do I think Obama is as bad.( And I respect the hell out of Clark and Wilson who are also supporters.) But neither are my first choice. I’m hoping Edwards will still be in it on Super Tuesday when I get to go to the polls. I usually vote in the Rep primary, trying to help the least worst of their candidates.(If you all think Senator Alexander is bad, you should have seen the other guys, LOL.) But in 2004 I voted Clark in the primary and this year will vote for Edwards. So, Larry, welcome to the “dark side”. LOL.

    Sorry I read all of todays posts, just don’t have time to comment individually.(My 17 year old son has agreed to watch a movie on DVD with me, and he’s had a lousy day,we had a Memorial Mass for his grandfather(WWII,Korea and Vietnam vet.My ex-father-in-law, but a man I admired and respected.)….. So, from the “Who Obstructed Justice” thread, one of the commentors posted about the spy satelites. Let’s pick a day, advertise it amongst the blogosphere and set an appointed time and all walk outside and flip off the satelites. Wouldn’t do any good, but would make many of us feel better. And I’d giggle. It’s performance art, dammit! ( Hey Gang! Let’s put on a show!”

  • justsomeone

    Am I really the one here that remembers Obama going to visit his paternal grandma in some little village in Africa? The people there were thrilled that one of their own was a US senator….remember? Infact Obama has talked alot about wanting to help Africa. POTUS has given billions to rid that continent of aids. My feeling on charity: it begins at home…

  • justsomeone

    sorry, that was suppose to say, Am I the only one here who remembers. Maybe my comment is off topic since the topic is who has spent the most time bummin’ around Europe. Tony Blair probably gave GWB some good tips on how to have 22+ cameras aimed at everyone 24/7. I seem to recall we fought a war to gain some independence from those people, yeah but that was a long time ago…ole Ron Paul & his hang up with the Constitution is starting to look better all the time.

  • hope4usa

    I’m hoping for Edwards. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not silly enough to believe anyone is without a certain level of corruption….but….I need to believe in this system, this process that we call a Constitutional Democracy. I need to understand and explain to my children why the richest nation in the world can’t seem to educate it’s children, nor provide universal healthcare, nor keep our highest elected officials from committing war crimes. Other countries do…why can’t we. This holiday, as always I will take my 16, 13, 12 year olds to help out at the local soup kitchen. They see normal people who just can’t make ends meet even though they have full time jobs. This year if Connecticut is an example, they will see twice as many. We need true change. I have nothing against Hillary but I don’t want to do the same old establishment. Obama is lacking qualifications at this time of grave, dire need. Edwards is saying what I need to hear for now.

  • reggie

    I’d take him to the Holocaust Museum at Auschwitz to bring home to a US president what a policy of aggressive nationalism can lead to.

    For most Europeans the invasion and occupation of Iraq was akin to the Nazi attack on Poland in 1939. An attack on Iran would for us, and probably the rest of the world, be like the attack on Russia in 1941. Bush’s fantasy of World War 3 would indeed come to pass because the rest of the world would have no choice but to fight back.

  • justsomeone

    GRC, “..a visit to an American military base & its enviorns could put a face on America’s empire.” Empire?? We’ve been peeing billions protecting europe so they could spend their dollars on transportation, education, health care etc. Empire? Euro welfare is more like it. That’s another thing I like about Ron Paul, he wants to bring the troops home from Europe & Korea. Those people should defend themselves, then we can see what happens to all their amenities, when they start paying for their own defense.

  • http://doublequotes.wordpress.com/ Charles Cameron (hipbone)

    Larry’s stated preference for Edwards aside, I think a European tour for a Presidential candidate is a fine idea, Senator Obama an excellent candidate, and this engaging and talkative Brit a reasonably ideal companion-guide.

    No NATO or Brussels yet, because this would be a visit designed for engraving memory with depth of impression: hence ceremonious (royal, religious), touching on tragedy (the holocaust, the poor) and peaceable (including times for refreshment, recollection, inspiration)). Visits of state come later.

    Europe is a moveable feast: our eventual target would be Istanbul, once Europe’s capital, magical in its own right, where the Big Question Mark is found. We’d go via Stonehenge, for ancient, Runnymede, for constitutional monarchy, Stratford, for swans and Shakespeare, the Paris bainlieu, for poverty, extinguished hope, and the gathering European presence of Islam, the Loire valley for a walk in dappled warmth, fine wine — one of the camps for brute eruptive reality — Zurich for shopping and sheer wealth, Venice, because it is lovely and sinking (I want to see it too), St Peter’s for pontifical High Mass, greatest of spectacles, most profound of rituals, and a cordial visit next day with Benedict XVI, thence onwards, to Istanbul Constantinople Byzantium.

  • yogi-one

    My dream ticket: Gore-Edwards, but it ain’t gonna happen.

    Edwards I think is my preference from the field of front runners too. But like Larry, I don’t think its realistic to predict he will be the nominee.

    Actually, Edwards has the same problem Obama has: he hasn’t been around long enough to build a big solid political machine, and for voters to feel they know exactly what they are getting if they vote for him.

    Obama knows how to campaign. He has risen relatively quickly from obscurity to household-word status. That’s a key political skill needed to get elected, and he has proven he has that skill. He can wow you, he can give a great speech, he can sell dreams, and that’s how politicians have always seduced the voters.

    The problem is that everything else has taken a back seat to campaigning. Unfortunately, it’s not all his fault, because the system rewards the eternal campaign monster, and ignores people who get the job done without making a fanfare. “Fanfare” runs the show. In a sense, you can’t blame Obama for understanding that truth.

    It’s about PR, it’s about looking good on talk-shows, it’s about fund-raising, it’s about telling voters what they want to hear, its about getting mega-star endorsements, and these things demand 24/7 campaigning. So that’s what he does, and it has been generating results for him.

    Unfortunately, our political system has no rewards for elected officials who actually show up at their offices and get work done. And our system actually punishes politicians who want to be honest and do good works. If you are a politician, and you want to fade into obscurity and be forgotten, then show up and do a good job everyday, and that’s what you’ll get.

    The system is completely loaded against doing the right things and has great rewards for doing the wrong things. The occupants of the current White House are my proof-of-concept here. Further evidence: Rudy and Huck.

    Who is trying to do the right thing out there – those are the candidates that don’t stand a chance. That’s why we all like Edwards, but we know, he’s a good guy, soo…and Al Gore apparently concluded you can’t be a good guy and be President too, so he chose to opt out of the whole rotten-to-the-core system. Really, you can’t blame him.

    That leaves the crooks as the front runners.

    Choose your poison carefully: all types of pain are not equal.

    • Shirin

      Ah! The Gore fantasy again! How quickly reality fades from the minds of the devoted!

  • TeakWoodKite

    I would like know what itinerary Tyler Drumheller would recommend.
    There is a passage in his book when he was writing about standing outside of Langley on 9/11 wishing “they” had paid more attention to Europe.

  • http://OUTRAGEDBUTNOTSURPRISED bama_barrron

    i am a strong edwards supporter who has found myself defending hillary on various liberal sites. why? i cant speak for others but for me it started to happen when i felt the attacks on her went over the line. these attacks were based on her sex, her previous role as first lady and some were even echoing right wing talking points. the more i read these attacks the more it became readily evident they originated from obama supporters. when questioned about their attacks this group almost as a whole replied with ad hominum replies … i was even troll rated on a couple sites by these people … i guess questioning them was over the line.

    you know i really disliked ronnie raygun but one of his favorite lines went something like this … dont speak evil of fellow republicans … i think us democrats might learn something from the ol gipper in this regard. i want a clean contest … no underhanded personal attacks. diasagree by all means but keep it professional … perhaps i’m asking too much … after all we are the disorganized and messy democrats.

    peace to all during this holiday season … keep up the “good” fight for whomever you support. for me, it is quite simple … I like john!

  • Masslib

    Obama simply isn’t prepared, and I sort of have to wonder about his intellectual curiousity if he has yet to visit Europe. I don’t find him inspirational, as so many claim him to be. He’s a bit too professory for me, and if people thought Bill Clinton too often bashed the Left to score points with the Right, well I don’t see how they find solace in Obama. I say, send him back to the Senate. Let’s see him actually effect someone’s life other than his own. I disagree with Larry. I much prefer Hillary, thought Edwards would be my second choice.

    • Shirin

      And what, specifically, do you prefer about Hillary?

  • Taters

    Why I Should Be Obama’s Tour Guide (not an official submission)

    Dear Sen. Obama,
    Like you I am bi-racial, grew up on two languages, spent much of my childhood overseas and my parents practiced
    two different regligions.
    Also, like you, I have foreign policy experience. As a Little Leaguer, we played against
    the Japanese All Stars    . And I’ve also served as an unofficial tour guide on the continent for friends and colleagues.
    (Since you’ve already been to Great Britain, we’ll go there along with Scandinavia,
    the Baltic States, Germany and Eastern Europe the next time around.)

    First stop, Amsterdam. Uh no,not for THAT or THAT, I was thinking the Rembrandt museum.
    Next stop, Brittany. It’s charming, beautiful, the people are lovely and the food is superb.
    Note; Please don’t refer to the English channel as the English channel. I think they call it Le Mer de la France or something like that.
    They had this war with England that was called the Hundred Years War and some of ‘em aren’t over it. I understand completely. I feel the same way about the Anaheim Ducks who knocked the Red Wings out in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year. Also,skip any Lucky Pierre jokes – trust me they don’t fly.
    Also on our itinerary: Alsace-Lorraine, Lugano, Barcelona, Geneva, Vienna, Palermo and Genk, Belgium.
    Why Genk you ask? Great question. That way we can always say “We’ve been Genked!”
    And now that it’s euros, you won’t have to worry about that “pretty money” with pictures of broads
    and musicians on it. I was always suspicious of that kind of currency.
    You will hear jokes about Belgians, I found it best to simply pretend not to understand

    .
    I will also share with you the European idea of Heaven and Hell.
    Heaven
    The Germans are the factory workers.
    The French are the cooks.
    The English are the police.
    The Swiss are the bankers.
    And the Italians are the lovers.
    Hell
    The French are the factory workers.
    The English are the cooks.
    The Italians are the bankers.
    The Germans are the police.
    And the Swiss are the lovers..
    Respectfully,
    Taters

    • Shirin

      Good one, Taters.

      By the way, did you know that Barak Obama’s father was an avowed atheist? So much for the Muslim connection!

    • http://NoQuarterUSA.net Larry Johnson

      Brilliant and funny. Well done.
      LJ

  • Taters

    Thanks, no I didn’t know that.
    Once in Belgium, I commented to two guys (We were hangin’ out and having fun, (one was Dutch and the other French) that our Belgian host was a a nice guy, gracious and generous. They both looked at me somewhat surprised and said, he is supposed to.
    I asked why.
    They said that he must concede to me for I was the superior man, after all he was Belge. And that he’s probably grateful I didn’t take his wife.
    I was somewhat taken aback and to this day I don’t know if they were serious or not.

  • CK

    China.
    Europe’s relevance decreases daily. China however has a stranglehold on the American economic system.
    And let us not forget that Calvin Coolidge was the third best president the USA ever had. Only William Henry Harrison and James A Garfield did more for freedom and liberty and caused fewer problems during their terms.

  • Taters

    Thanks Larry.

  • ybnormal

    Like Obama, I don’t have special knowledge of Europe outside of my public school education. However, they say the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone. So I could teach Obama and get learnin’ for both of us at the same time!

    I know, far-fetched logic, but so is the logic of electing the inexperienced Obama as president.

    I figure if I can Wow him with mis-direction, using stories about my family and ancestors, I’m in. You know, the way he’s Wow’d folks with a single speech at the ’04 convention.

    I’m related to some people like president Millard Fillmore and Major General Ed Landsdale, and Francis Scott Key was the family’s lawyer. None of this has anything to do with touring Europe, but that’s OK. If Obama’s campaign is any clue, it’s the Wow factor that counts.

    • Taters

      That is good, yb. You make a great case.

    • Centrocitta

      You know what they say about Tennis players. “If you don’t win any matches, be an Instructor”. And then there’s the Mexican that gives English lessons. He can’t really excel due to his inferior command of the English language so he teaches it with a Spanish accent.

  • Matthew Gerring

    Call me crazy, but after the Dodd, Biden, Kucinich, Gravel, and Richardson supporters re-allign with Obama on Caucus Night and everyone at Obama for America has to start working overtime, I have a feeling they’re not going to have time to even glance at your petty bullshit.

  • oldtree

    I can volunteer for the tour guide post if expenses are paid. I will take him to Spain and explain how the 20th century affected the world that was built around Spain and the preemptive fascist takeover.
    We may be able to let him know about how the inquisition was popular there, how the arabic civilization brought their knowledge to Europe and brought us out of the dark ages.

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  • http://doublequotes.wordpress.com/ Charles Cameron (hipbone)

    Well, does Obama get to go to Europe?

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  • Taters

    Hey Travel to Zurich, what a lovely city! We stayed at the Seegarten, a wonderful hotel with all the amenities of home. Gracious hosts and a superb restaurant. I hope to return.

  • Matt

    Guess what, Pres Bush never visited Europe prior to his first term in office. I guess you missed that Larry.

  • john b

    I would recommend that he visit Brussels, and, time permitting make a stop to acquaint himself with NATO headquarters there. I’m sure he could browse the archives of NATO’s participation in Afghanistan to confirm that, in fact, Arabic is no spoken there. While there, he could enjoy some Belgian waffles with a little sausage in peace.

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  • Taters

    Or some Trappist beer and Belgian chocolate. Good post!