Report: Bush Privately Told Germany He Had Misgivings About Obama Speech

**UPDATE**
German papers find more evidence that the Bush administration voiced strong opposition to an Obama speech at the Brandenberg Gate. Ben Smith reports:
Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt told the tabloid Bild -- the biggest paper in the country -- that "it would be nice if the German government would focus on strengthening its contacts to us rather than already beginning to look for our successors."
Also, a few readers wrote in with more precise translations of the word "angeblafft" in that Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung piece, which -- beyond the point previously translated -- said Merkel's foreign policy adviser Christoph Heusgen was "taken to task," "snapped at," or "berated" by a Bush aide.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed unease about a possible Obama speech at the Brandenberg Gate. A spokesman said Merkel felt "great skepticism as to whether it is appropriate" for a U.S. election candidate to speak at "a place with a particular exclusivity, intensity and symbolism."
Thursday, Der Spiegel reported that Bush administration officials privately told the German government that they don't like the idea:
LinkHere