Readers Respond to President Obama and Aldi

The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.

Welcome President Obama

It's hard to imagine history being kind to Bush. However, Truman was considered one the worst presidents when he left office and now he's ranked among the best. Who knows, we could all be wrong about Bush -- but I doubt it. By the way, James Buchanan will always be remembered as the worst president because when he left office the American civil war started. -- Brad Alexander, Canada

This person has got to be better than President George W. Bush. It was a shame that Obama could not offer Hillary Clinton the vice presidency but she has a good position as secretary of state. How conservative European leaders such as President Nicholas Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany are going to react to his policies both domestically and globally will be very interesting. -- Stuart John Pearson, Australia

Wake up Europe! Obama is not going to be good for everybody. But he will be good for America. -- Eric, Canada

Get out of Iraq, close Guantanamo Bay and try to avert a prolonged recession. But the welfare of US citizens should take priority over all other global concerns. -- David, US

Discounter Aldi looks to US market

I am not sure if Aldi will take over from Walmart in the US. We have Aldi in Australia but not where I live. I am still waiting for a store to open here so we have some competition to Woolworths and Coles who dominate retail in Australia. -- Stuart John Pearson, Australia

Aldi will never catch Walmart simply because they come from two different markets and Aldi could not employ the same practices as Walmart because it is a German company. However Aldi could do better if it did not act like a bull-headed German that knows everything. The company doesn't want to hear from anyone else and doesn't even try to encourage feedback to the extent that they have no contact email address or listed phone numbers. When Aldi started in business after the war, it had the reputation that customers did not want to be seen leaving or entering the store for fear they would be thought of as desperate. -- Dieter Schmied, US

I was familiar with Aldi from the time I was stationed in Germany while serving in the US Army. Having been back in the midwestern US for some time, I still purchase every item possible from Aldi, and then go to either Kroger's or Walmart for what is left on my shopping list. Aldi still saves me quite a bit of money. -- Barry Brown, US