Backstage in Berlin
Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008 3:50 PM by Barbara Raab
Filed Under:
Brian Williams
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
In this line of work, we seldom get to watch an event the way most people watch an event. But we do get some unusual views -- like when we had to talk our way into the motorcade through Berlin today when it became apparent that there was no other way for us to get to the Barack Obama speech venue. Like when we got there and took our place backstage, and then looked out and saw the crowd as Obama saw them -- people virtually as far as the eye could see.
As a German journalist said here this morning: from the looks of things, Obama could be elected President of Germany by upwards of 70 percent -- perhaps even President of Europe. The question becomes: what does this scene we witnessed here today GET Barack Obama?
I asked him that very question as he walked away from the surging ropeline here tonight -- his answer, as he indicated earlier today in our sit-down interview, has to do with a message he wanted to impart to Europe and the wider world. It's a very basic question concerning what we witnessed here today: what does it mean?
To recite the basic facts, here's what we know: upwards of a quarter of a million people (crowd estimates will vary and are hard to come by) turned out in Berlin today to hear a sitting American Senator -- the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for President and the first African American in that role. In the crowd, we saw people from all over Europe and all over the world, crowding forward to touch the candidate, flowing into this city to see him -- along a grand boulevard where Hitler's army once marched -- to witness this speech.
That's what we know. That's what we saw. The Presidential campaign lies ahead back home -- there's a long way to go -- and nothing that took place here will help the Senator during the combat of a tough domestic campaign. Americans, not Berliners, will decide the outcome. Today Berliners came out in extraordinary numbers to see a famous American in their midst.
When we got back to our makeshift office, I looked out the window to see the crowds streaming back into the city, through the Brandenburg Gate, following the event. Senior Producer Subrata De snapped the moment -- she also shot a few frames at both of our encounters with the Senator today.
We'll see you again from Berlin tonight -- Andrea Mitchell will be with me to assist in the reporting of this day in this city.
And please join me in wishing (as we will on the air tonight) a happy birthday to a friend of mine, and a great American hero. John Finn celebrated his 99th birthday today. John received the very first Medal of Honor that was awarded in World War II. You can read his story here.
I've seen John several times this year, and he still has an enormous amount of energy and a fantastic outlook on life. He's a treasure and a genuine American original. If my plan worked, a letter I sent him before leaving for Europe was among the greetings he opened on the big day -- in it, I expressed my admiration for him -- which I proudly repeat here. Happy Birthday, John.
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
