“The holy Koran teaches us: Trust God and always speak the truth”, United States President Barack Obama reminded us at the University of Cairo last Thursday. It is time for a “new beginning”.
When the Koran, God and Obama say the same thing, nobody had better decline. I, too, will stick to the truth in reporting about the president’s memorable trip that ended just a few hours ago.
The newspaper said the journey led to Riyadh, Cairo, Dresden and Paris, and then back to Washington. But in reality, it went deep into Obama-Land. This is what the new world could look like, or close to it, anyway.
Obama-Land is a land in which there are no more passports and no more luggage, because both of these things have already been collected by the White House. That is how the White House press corps – that’s what our little expedition troop is called – entered foreign countries, stepping light as a feather.
The sheiks in Saudi Arabia gave us friendly nods at the airport. Even our BBC colleague, who made his way to the Orient in track pants and flip-flops, was allowed in.
And the border guards in Cairo left their handcuffs on their belts. The German shepherds in Dresden had a sniffing ban when the White House press marched into Sachsen. Entry time: 30 seconds each.
We traveled in our own plane, which the White House press corps calls a charter. The striking thing on board this machine is that virtually everything the resolute Lufthansa stewardesses regard as iron-clad laws of aviation holds no validity in the press corps charter.
OBAMA ON THE ROAD: BIG SPEECH AND SMALL SNACKS
Walking around in the machine during take-off or landing is not permitted, they always say. Here, apparently not a rule. Using a mobile phone? That’s dangerous for the on-board electronics. Here, one could text and telephone until the plane was on the ground. Seat belt requirement? Position the backrest upright? Turn off the computer? In Obama-Land, the freedom began below the clouds.
Like every orderly army unit, the press corps has a clear management structure that can be studied in the airplane with almost scientific precision. In the front, where the seats also extend out into beds, the five-star generals have established their quarters: They are the famous TV reporters from the large, national U.S. broadcasting stations, CNN, Fox News, CBS and ABC. One recognizes them, due to the Blackberries that seem adhered to their hands, and to the fact that they like to wear sunglasses even when it’s cloudy.
Behind them are the officers of the political correspondents from the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and a few other important U.S. newspapers. These days, one has to speak to them quite sensitively, because their newspapers are on their last legs. It could be that they will only experience Obama’s new world as freelance bloggers. No wonder they are more interested in advertising customers than in the Koran.
The infantry of the press corps consists of those who have been otherwise bred by the international media world. From Le Monde in France, to the Tokyo Shimbun from Japan, everyone is on board. But this little caste system cannot dampen the mood. Obama did say that one single speech could not change the entire world. So we have to be patient.
EVERYTHING IS SAFE IN OBAMA-WORLD
The president is worse off here than the media who accompany him. He is number one in the Western World, and what does that get him? His presidential airplane, Air Force One, was permitted to land only after we did. A waving president on the red carpet in front of a patriot military band is not worth much without a live broadcast, now is it? King Abdullah has a lot of oil. But CNN has a lot of viewers.
OBAMA’S HISTORICAL SPEECH: A NEW BEGINNING IN CAIRO
The nice thing about Obama-World is that everything is so safe. Every 30 minutes, someone in America is murdered. But during the president’s foreign tours, fever and stomach queasiness have been the worst incidents, so far.
This is, of course, due to the fact that the president and everyone who is permitted to approach him move within a “bubble”, as FBI experts call the safety net around him. The public is kept at a distance. The résumés of the people he meets are well-investigated. Even a chance encounter is neatly prearranged. In the big bubble, there is no violence, no speaking choir, and when it comes down to business, there is also no mobile phone reception.
A few minutes before the president approached the podium in Cairo, a transmitter, which the Americans brought with them, interfered with the radio waves. “No service”, was displayed on telephones. Many Arabs at the University of Cairo could not believe their fate, considering that prayer beads and mobile telephones are a part of the standard equipment of the modern Muslim world.
The White House press corps was better off, though. The helpers from the White House were as busy as bees – Samantha, Kathie, Jennifer and all the rest of them – and they immediately had a secret network password at hand. This was now being whispered, from the generals right down to the lower ranks, and the computers were already purring. Obama-Land seems to lie right at the entrance of the Internet highway.
In any case, Obama’s world is a technical, highly developed universe. His speech was available to fellow travelers on Twitter, Facebook and via SMS, even before he gave it. All the president had to do was read it.
Even in the political evaluation, no fellow traveling journalist was left out. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, and Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, helped with empathic understanding. You could meet with them in the hotel or speak to them via a teleconference: “If you have a question, press ‘*1’”.
A world of deep, strong emotions
And one could not escape them. The verbatim transcript of their comments was delivered, without solicitation. That is how one learns that the president had many “big moments” on this tour, as Axelrod expressed it. Obama-World is a world of deep feelings.
It is also a transparent world, which did not seem to please the generals and officers in the press corps. The president has insisted, from the first day of his presidential term, that he has no secrets. Every day, one of his American colleagues is allowed to follow his every step – and then must accurately report everything to the others by e-mail. In this way, Obama grants closeness, but not exclusiveness. The president belongs to everyone, he says.
Maybe as a punishment for this preliminary step toward a casteless society, U.S. colleagues especially like to use two popular little abbreviations: In their “pool-reports”, they refer to the “President of the U.S.” as “Potus”. And here, the “First Lady of the U.S.” is not referred to as Michelle Obama, but rather “Flotus”.
In doing so, the advantages of this procedure are obvious. The president is no longer hunted down by an entire mob, and we can enjoy the time before our return flight in the Paris Louvre. Even there, one still felt close to the presidential couple.
Potus and Flotus, as expressed in pool-report number one, had already left their sleeping quarters at the U.S. ambassador’s house. After a short drive, according to pool-report number two, they arrived in the underground garage at the Pompidou Center, to enjoy modern art.
The president outsmarts the press
I no longer needed a watch. After two hours, pool-report number three reported that Potus and Flotus had left the underground garage of their museum. Now, I had to hurry, too. The press corps charter did not like to wait.
Nowhere else are the Islam and Western worlds as close as they are in the sky. The one looks forward to the virgins that the Koran promises them. The White House press corps looks forward to the return trip on board the jumbo charter. A friendly voice greeted the returnees, with the announcement: “Champagne is flowing, and you should be in it.”
Somehow, Obama had outsmarted us on the return flight. He was home first. In the pool-report, which even we received during our descent, it said: Potus made a brief stop at the White House and then left again – “armed with his golf bag”.
Obama-Land can be confusingly modern.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.