NY Sun omitted Obama's reference to himself as “a proud citizen of the” U.S., then suggested he didn't say it

Written by Ryan Chiachiere

Published

In reference to Sen. Barack Obama's speech in Berlin, The New York Sun stated in an editorial: “So Barack Obama, whose father is from Kenya and who attended school in Indonesia, now appears before a crowd of 200,000 cheering Germans in Berlin to proclaim himself a 'citizen of the world.' ” The Sun later asserted, “We'd settle for a president who is a citizen of America, thank you very much.” In fact, during the speech, Obama described himself as “a citizen -- a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.”

In a July 25 editorial, The New York Sun said in reference to Sen. Barack Obama's July 24 speech in Berlin: “So Barack Obama, whose father is from Kenya and who attended school in Indonesia, now appears before a crowd of 200,000 cheering Germans in Berlin to proclaim himself a 'citizen of the world.' It makes you wonder whether he's running for president of America or secretary general of the United Nations.” The Sun later asserted, “We'd settle for a president who is a citizen of America, thank you very much” -- falsely suggesting that Obama had referred to himself only as a “citizen of the world.” In fact, during the speech, he described himself as “a citizen -- a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.”

Similarly, in a July 25 article, the Sun cropped Obama's introduction, writing, “Introducing himself as a 'fellow citizen of the world,' the presumptive Democratic nominee stood in the German capital and called for Europe to stand with America in the fight against terrorism and forge a united front to eliminate nuclear weapons and curb the damage wrought by global climate change.”

The Sun did not note in either the editorial or the article that in a June 17, 1982, speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Ronald Reagan introduced himself similarly, saying, “I speak today as both a citizen of the United States and of the world.” President Richard Nixon, in a March 30, 1969, eulogy for President Dwight Eisenhower described him as “truly, the first citizen of the world.”

From the July 25 Sun editorial:

So Barack Obama, whose father is from Kenya and who attended school in Indonesia, now appears before a crowd of 200,000 cheering Germans in Berlin to proclaim himself a “citizen of the world.” It makes you wonder whether he's running for president of America or secretary general of the United Nations, and it is reminiscent of Senator Kerry's ill-fated 2004 debate pledge to subject American policies to a “global test.”

[...]

We'd settle for a president who is a citizen of America, thank you very much. Or at least one with the humility to recognize that the president is elected by Americans, not Germans. In the meantime, it is hard to take Mr. Obama's speech as anything more than the pandering to which he is prone. What else to make of his proclamation that “America has no better partner than Europe”? What about Japan? What about Canada and Mexico? What about Israel? Maybe Mr. Obama would make a good ambassador to Germany or France in a McCain administration, though he'd have to be watched closely for clientitis.

From the July 25 Sun article, headlined “McCain Camp Hopes for Backlash”:

As Senator Obama basks in the adulation of more than 200,000 cheering Europeans in Berlin, Republicans are banking on a backlash at home.

Introducing himself as a “fellow citizen of the world,” the presumptive Democratic nominee stood in the German capital and called for Europe to stand with America in the fight against terrorism and forge a united front to eliminate nuclear weapons and curb the damage wrought by global climate change.