Germany *Hearts* Obama

For some, he's the new JFK:

Germany has developed a serious case of Obama-mania.

Barack Obama’s high standing in Germany goes beyond his opposition to
the unpopular war in Iraq. The country’s sudden crush is bound up with
near-constant comparisons here between the young senator from Illinois and
President John F. Kennedy Jr. – still admired in Germany and particularly in
Berlin.

The Berliner Morgenpost over the weekend ran with the headline, “The New Kennedy.” The tabloid Bild declared, “This Black American has become the new Kennedy!” And the headline
for the editorial in the Frankfurter Rundschau read simply: “Lincoln,
Kennedy, Obama.”

The state of the German Economy

Megan McArdle contradicts Dean Baker, and makes the case that Germany isn't doing all that well, relative to the U.S. Countering Baker is a dangerous game, but I think she is right. The future could look much worse for Germany, but it could also look much better.