Obama takes on airs of inevitability

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By Donald Lambro

Barack Obama is only a candidate, but don't tell that to the Germans, some of whom have leapfrogged that whole election thing and already are calling him "President Obama" in advance of his visit.

For that matter, his own campaign could use a reminder. For the second time in as many days, reporters traveling with Mr. Obama on his overseas trip corrected campaign staffers for saying White House practices also govern his campaign in dealing with the press, or in delivering speeches.

Even the King of Jordan gave the senator from Illinois special treatment - personally driving the presumed Democratic nominee to the airport in his Mercedes.

Meantime, Mr. Obama has met with top U.S. military commanders and engaged in negotiations with foreign leaders, prompting strong criticism from a former White House adviser who accused him of crossing the line by talking about his conversations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"We have a long tradition in this country that we only have one president at a time. He's the commander in chief and the negotiator in chief. I cannot remember a campaign in which a rival seeking the presidency has been in a position negotiating a war that's under way with another party outside the country," David Gergen, who has served four presidents in both parties during his career, said on CNN Monday night.

The freshman senator has run into similar self-perception troubles before for a faux presidential seal on his speaking podium and for considering an address at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, where President Kennedy delivered his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech during the Cold War.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed Mr. Obama's site selection, calling it "inappropriate" for politics.

Instead, Mr. Obama will speak Thursday at Berlin's Victory Column, a far less lofty site commemorating Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, in an event that is expected to draw thousands and provide footage for the campaign's TV ads.

This was all too much for Republicans, who stepped up the pace of their regular "Audacity Watch" e-mail blast to reporters. In the past few days, the Republican National Committee has balked at the ad team's coverage of the speech and become riled when Mr. Obama presented himself as qualified not only to win the presidential race Nov. 4 but also re-election in 2012.

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Mr. Obama said the objective of his trip was "to have substantive discussions with people like [Afghan] President Karzai or [Iraqi] Prime Minister Maliki or [French] President Sarkozy or others who I expect to be dealing with over the next eight to 10 years." That comment, and another in which he said he "never" has doubts, became fodder for another "Audacity Watch."