While I personally have been persuaded that it was a good thing Obama didn't show up in Berlin, for those readers who haven't been, here's your definitive answer as to why he didn't:

(Via Heritage)

1) Obama is uncomfortable with the idea of American greatness

The fall of the Berlin Wall was the direct result of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher’s determination to confront and defeat Soviet communism. Barack Obama is distinctly uncomfortable with the notion of celebrating the successes of American global power. Practically every speech he has given on foreign soil since taking office has been marked by an apology or apologies for America’s past. A recognition of American leadership, especially an acknowledgement of Ronald Reagan’s leadership, would have been an awkward moment for a US president who seems ashamed of American greatness and exceptionalism.

2) Obama attaches little importance to the advancement of human rights on the world stage

The Wall’s downfall symbolized the defeat of a brutal ideology, Communism, that enslaved hundreds of millions in Europe. It marked the end of a dictatorial regime in East Germany that oppressed its own people under the auspices of an evil Empire. Barack Obama simply does not view the world as Reagan did, in terms of good versus evil, as a world divided between the forces of freedom on one side and totalitarianism on the other. For the Obama administration the advancement of human rights and individual liberty on the world stage is a distinctly low priority, as we have seen with its engagement strategy towards the likes of Iran, Burma, Sudan, Venezuela and Russia.

3) Obama cares little about the transatlantic alliance

Barack Obama has paid less attention to the transatlantic alliance than any US president since the Second World War. With the exception of Russia, relations with Europe appear to be of only passing interest to President Obama, as is the NATO alliance, unless it involves matters of European integration. The only European issue that seems to energize the Obama administration is the EU’s drive to create a federal European superstate, which is enthusiastically supported by Washington despite the threat it poses to US interests.

4) Obama is keen to appease Russia

The Obama administration has gone to great lengths to avoid doing anything to offend the Russians, as part of its “reset” strategy. This was exemplified by its monumental surrender to Moscow by reversing the American policy of installing Third Site missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic. In effect, Barack Obama threw key US allies in eastern and central Europe under the bus in order to placate Russian demands. The White House no doubt calculated that Obama’s presence in Berlin would be interpreted by hawks in Russia as provocative triumphalism on the part of the Americans. Embarrassingly for President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev actually showed up at the Berlin celebrations, while the leader of the free world was nowhere to be seen.

"Barack Obama simply does not view the world as Reagan did, in terms of good versus evil, as a world divided between the forces of freedom on one side and totalitarianism on the other."

That's the money quote right there. I was wondering the other day whether Obama sees anybody as an enemy. The more I read and the more we get to watch him on the stage, the more obvious it becomes that he does not. This is dangerously naive thinking and it will end badly for the United States if the idea is permitted to develop fully as policy. I don't think it has just yet, but we've seen enough to know that the world's wanna-be power brokers have taken notice.

Russ