Lambsdorff demands McCain retract 'fawning Germans' comment
A member of Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP) has called on US presidential candidate John McCain to retract his spokesman’s comment labelling Germans as “fawning” for turning out in great numbers for a speech by Barack Obama in Berlin last week.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a member of the European Parliament for the staunchly pro-American Free Democrats, told Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel on Tuesday that he wrote e letter to McCain to express his dismay over the statement made by his spokesman Tucker Bounds.
Bounds attacked Obama for cancelling a visit to a US military hospital in Germany after he had addressed an adoring crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin last Thursday.
"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."
Lamsdorff said many in Germany had hoped Europe and the United States were entering a more constructive period for transatlantic ties, which is why McCain should “so quickly and clearly as possible” retract the insulting comment by Bounds.
The McCain campaign found it difficult to compete for media attention last week during Obama’s overseas trip. While the presumptive Democratic nominee spoke before a cheering crowd near Berlin’s Victory Column, McCain was reduced to visiting Schmidt’s Sausage Haus and Restaurant in a part of Columbus, Ohio known as German Village.
Comments
See Also
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a member of the European Parliament for the staunchly pro-American Free Democrats, told Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel on Tuesday that he wrote e letter to McCain to express his dismay over the statement made by his spokesman Tucker Bounds.
Bounds attacked Obama for cancelling a visit to a US military hospital in Germany after he had addressed an adoring crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin last Thursday.
"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."
Lamsdorff said many in Germany had hoped Europe and the United States were entering a more constructive period for transatlantic ties, which is why McCain should “so quickly and clearly as possible” retract the insulting comment by Bounds.
The McCain campaign found it difficult to compete for media attention last week during Obama’s overseas trip. While the presumptive Democratic nominee spoke before a cheering crowd near Berlin’s Victory Column, McCain was reduced to visiting Schmidt’s Sausage Haus and Restaurant in a part of Columbus, Ohio known as German Village.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.