German magazine bags Obama 'confession' at G-20
(Read article summary)Was there a touch of schadenfreude in the ensuing frenzy of commentary?
While pundits in the United States debate whether or not President Obama inclined his body toward Saudi King Abdullah at last week's Group of 20 meeting in London, attention in Europe is more focused on the president's verbal bowing during the summit.
During the final "decisive" session of the G-20 meeting, President Obama uttered three words that, at least according to this account by the respected German news magazine Der Spiegel, amounted to a US confession for causing the financial crisis and and "may go down in world history as one of the greatest statements ever made."
What, pray tell, did the president say?
"I take responsibility."
Spiegel, which is Germany's 800-pound gorilla of serious political journalism, used the statement as the lead of its triple-bylined account of the summit, which is printed under the headline: "Obama's G-20 Confession." Much like the rising debate surrounding the president's alleged bow, the tale of the so-called confession is ripe for a bit of interpretation, which might help explain why the statement didn't lead the news in the US – rating only a mere mention deep in the bowels of the website Politico – much less garner nomination to be included among statements such as "All men are created equal," or "I have a dream," or "It ain't over 'til it's over."
