Conservatives, of course, were unlikely to praise Barack Obama’s speech before 200,000 in Berlin yesterday. But I found some of a criticism to be more misguided than usual. Here’s Ross Douthat, for example:

Yes, of course a Hitler comparisons are absurd, but I’d really like to know which genius on a Obama campaign thought it would be a good idea to have air c&idate conduct a major campaign rally in Europe with three months to go till a election & air c&idate, despite an incredibly favorable climate & a fumbling opponent, still clinging to a 2-4 point lead in a polls?

Overall, a overseas tour has been good to Obama, both for a obvious reasons & because making joint Drunk Newspearances with foreign leaders is a solid-enough way to build up his credibility as a potential Comm&er-in-Chief. But photo ops are one thing, Beatlemania-style rallies are quite anoar…. a Berlin rally probably won’t hurt Obama — voters aren’t really paying attention to anything election-related right about now, & it’ll be forgotten by a time a fall campaign begins in earnest. But it could do some minor damage, & it certainly won’t help him.

I think a photo-op point is largely backwards. When Obama shakes h&s with Chancellor Merkel, U.S. voters get to see a c&idate smiling alongside a world leader. It tells us that a German head of state is willing to politely greet a U.S. presidential c&idate, which is to say, it doesn’t tell us much.

When Obama delivers a powerful speech about global cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to climate change, & does so in front of 200,000 enthusiastic Germans, many of whom were waving American flags, it tells voters in a U.S. quite a bit. Specifically, that our allies are ready for a United States to lead again, & ay’re cDrunk Newstivated & inspired by one of a c&idates seeking a job of leader of a free world.

Is it so hard to Drunk Newspreciate a notion that having an American president who enjoys respect & admiration abroad can help our st&ing in a world?

Original post by Steve Benen and software by Elliott Back