“Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world,” presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama told an estimated 200,000 people in Berlin July 24. 
 
 Why is Obama spending precious campaign time addressing 200,000 people who don’t vote in U.S. elections?  Because in an age of satellite communication, the U.S. news media broadcasts that speech right back to millions of American voters.  A campaign is about creating compelling images, and Obama’s campaign is betting the candidate’s rock star appeal with a European crowd will impress the folks back home.
 
Even though it’s not unusual for presidential candidates, including presumed Republican nominee John McCain, to travel overseas, none had ever given such a high-profile speech to such a large crowd. A McCain spokesman called the speech “a premature victory lap.”
 
An important part of Obama’s message to his German audience was that the United States and Europe need to repair relations that have been strained over the Iraq war.  He said it’s important for the United States to work with its European allies to protect human rights, fight terrorism and curb climate change.
 
The candidate seems to have struck a chord in Germany, but will his Berlin speech win American votes? The latest polls show more than 40 percent of Americans say Obama’s visits to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe haven’t change their opinion of the Democrat.  Nevertheless, some political experts believe trips made by Obama and McCain will affect the election. Find out more in “Presidential Candidates’ Foreign Trips Matter.”
 
So what do you think?  Does Obama’s trip make him a stronger candidate?