Should Barack Obama have skipped Europe and gone home?

[bijou]

Few could argue against the conclusion that Barack Obama's visit to Afghanistan and Iraq, which produced great pictures, and his two days in Jordan and Israel, when he skillfully navigated the sensitivities of Middle East politics, were a great success for his campaign.

But Germany and France? Not so much. There seems to be a consensus that his Berlin speech was a little underwhelming. From the Left, Michael Tomasky of the Guardian has a thoughtful take here. From the Right, NRO's John Cullinan makes a number of perceptive points. My own view, as per my RealClearPolitics piece today, is that the presumptive Democratic nominee is looking distinctly presumptuous.

SNIP...

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden