Double Take:

Der Messias kommt.

On Thursday, Obama gave a speech in Berlin, in front of an audience of swooning Berliners. The swooning was partially due to the fact that Obama-ism has now become the official religion of the EU, but to be perfectly honest, the speech was pretty good too. At least, pretty good for a major deity. It was full of grandiose, historic-ish imagery that drew upon America's enduring brotherhood with the German people, and little themes like world-wide peace and justice. Needless to say, there was a lot of clapping.

But does it matter?

We all know Obama's popularity is sky-high overseas. Clearly, if this were an international election, there would be no contest. However, this isn't an international election. In order to get elected, Obama only has to win over the populace of one country: the good ol' USA. Does anyone on this side of the Atlantic feel touched by Obama's highly publicized Euro-trip?

Speaking in Berlin was an obviously symbolic move, intended to conjure up images of Reagan and JFK. But almost two decades after the end of the cold war, Berlin seems like an oddly irrelevant backdrop. The typically eloquent speech was certainly far from a gaffe, but whether or not it resonates back home is yet to be seen.

The Avengers.

Even as Bat-mania sweeps across the nation, some residents of Gotham aren't waiting for a creepy guy in a rubber suit to bail them out. Depressed about the direction this country's heading in? Read this story, and let the healing begin.