Democratic presumptive presidential candidate Barack Obama is preparing to deliver a keynote concert in Berlin on how he sees relations developing between the Free World and the ever-present eastern threat of Communism.
His arrival in the German capital kicks off the European leg of the rocker Democrat's Change Your Socks World Tour. Tee-shirt sales are said to be high and Berlin ticket scalpers are having a field day with last minute ticket purchases.
Excitement is nearly unprecedented, though many are comparing it to the enthusiasm shown at the stunning Berlin performance of John F. Kennedy's 1963 I Am a Jelly Doughnut World Tour where crowds were set afire by JFK's oratory and then, apparently, set fire to the stadium seats in a fit of frenzied approval.
Thousands of people have gathered to hear Barack Obama give the only open-air BYOB performance of his Change Your Socks tour at the Victory Column.
"Hopefully [the concert] will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the Free World and the Sino-Soviet Communist bloc," he told reporters on the eve of his arrival.
"Well, that and a damn great night of rock and roll!" he added to cheers from adoring fans held at bay by the Berlin police.
Reports from Berlin indicate that the Illinois senator, 46, is very popular in Germany, where surveys suggest three-quarters of people want him to be the next US president and four-fifths of the women would give anything for a backstage pass and a post-concert quickie with the handsome presidential hopeful.
The concert starts at eight local time and no cameras are allowed.
