Finally, a conservative who likes President Obama.
And he’s not just any conservative, mind you. He’s a capital-C Conservative, British Prime Minister David Cameron. On his official visit to Washington, the Briton could not say enough good things about his American host.
On Iran: “The president’s tough, reasonable approach has united the world.”
On Libya: “Mr. President, Barack, about Libya … none of that would have been possible without the overwhelming support and overwhelming force that the United States provided in the early stages of that campaign — exactly what you promised you would do.”
On Afghanistan: “I think the U.S. surge … had a transformative effect.”
On Syria: “Our teams work incredibly closely together on this issue.”
The prime minister even defended Obama’s slow progress on debt reduction: “Actually, if you look at the U.S. plans for reducing the deficit over coming years, in many ways they are actually steeper than what we’re going to be doing.”
All that was missing was for Cameron to cut a campaign ad for Obama — and he just about did that, too. Cameron accompanied Obama to an NCAA basketball tournament game Tuesday night that just happened to be in the swing state of Ohio, and it produced some impossibly good press for Obama.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair famously became former President George W. Bush’s “poodle” when he followed the United States into Iraq. Now it’s the opposite relationship — an American politician from the left and a British prime minister from the right — but a similar dynamic is developing. This time, Cameron seems to be serving as Obama’s guard dog, defending his American master against the Mitt Romneys and the Rick Santora.
Obama must have recognized the value in having a foreign leader as a campaign-year prop, because his incessant sports chatter was perhaps the most forced attempt at presidential bonhomie since Bush announced at Camp David that he and Blair use the same toothpaste.
“I shared with the prime minister a uniquely American tradition of bracketology — March Madness,” Obama announced on Cameron’s arrival at the White House Wednesday morning.
“I will leave America with some new words,” Cameron replied. “Alley-oops, brackets, fast breaks.”
“I’m still trying to get David to fill out his bracket,” Obama reported later, at a news conference in the Rose Garden. Obama also mentioned an earlier ping-pong match at which he and Cameron got “thrashed” by some kids.
“I’m trying to make up to you with the gift of a table tennis table,” answered Cameron, who had indeed provided the president with such a table earlier in the day.
“We should practice this afternoon,” suggested Obama, who reciprocated by supplying his British friend with a charcoal grill.
Cameron had a better idea. “One of these days I’ll get my own back by getting you to a cricket match,” said the Eton and Oxford-educated prime minister.
During the question time, a British correspondent cautioned Obama that a cricket match can last five days.
But it just may take that long for the two men to run out of ways to praise each other and their oh-so-special relationship. Obama went out of his way to call his new friend by his Christian name: “I value David’s leadership and partnership so much. … I very much appreciate David’s perspective. … I want to commend David personally for the leadership role he plays. … I concur with everything David said. … I’d echo everything that David said.”
Maybe it was the scent of the saucer magnolias flowering in the Rose Garden, but Cameron was downright awestruck by his host, whom he called Bar-ACK:
“I have to say, Barack, with that spectacular command of our shared language … Barack, thank you, because there are some countries whose alliance is a matter of convenience, but ours is a matter of conviction. … As Barack has said, the relationship between Britain and America is the strongest that it has ever been.”
David hailed the World War II service of Barack’s grandfather. Barack tried to speak David’s English: “David, we are chuffed to bits that you are here and I’m looking forward to a great natter.” David expressed regret for the British burning of the White House in 1812. Barack gave one of the two questions for the American side to Reuters’ correspondent Alister Bull, whose accent matches Cameron’s. Some of the American reporters grumbled.
“It’s the special relationship,” Bull said.
“It’s a special relationship,” Obama agreed.
Dana Milbank’s email address is danamilbank@washpost.com.
That’s because British conservatism resembles what conservatism once stood for in the US: a thoughtful, considered prefence for traditional values and slower process of change. Not a polarizing preference for narrow ideology, obstinate resistance to change and preemption of compromise.
Cameron lost all credibility with his Afghanistan surge comment. Obama’s surge cost an extraordinary number of young American lives, and Cameron thinks they are now transformed? This Washington Post writer thinks sports is way more important than toothpaste. He rather be entertained than take personal responsibility. Cameron must have forgot Obama’s snub sending back the Chuchill Bust.
Apparently the only ones who think returning a loaned item is a snub are the right wing nuts in the US. There were demands in Britain for its return.
From another view, it really does not matter what the political views of the leaders of the US and Britain are. Our heritage is so tightly bound to that of the English that I cannot imagine what could cause a serious rupture in the relationship.
Churchill has less happy connotations for Mr Obama than those American politicians who celebrate his wartime leadership. It was during Churchill’s second premiership that Britain suppressed Kenya’s Mau Mau rebellion. Among Kenyans allegedly tortured by the colonial regime included one Hussein Onyango Obama, the President’s grandfather. British officials offered the bust on loan for four more years, but Obama said, “no thanks!” Calling me a right wing nut job says so much more about you. Obama said Afghanastan was the war to be in. Do you have an opinion on the “transformation?”
When the right wing nuts first claimed Obama gave it to England, they not only did not add the words ‘back to’, but claimed it was American property and belonged to the American people. They also ‘forgot’ to mention he replaced it with a bust or picture (not sure which) of a real American hero, Abraham Lincolm. Personally I do not care what Churchill did, he was not an American since he was born outside of the US to a British father. I find it amusing that the right wing nuts get so upset about not having a bust of a foreign leader in the White House. Would they be as upset if a bust of Stalin, our other WWII ally, was removed from the White House? (hint; there isn’t any there.)
I think it is in reality an attempt by the right wing nuts to find some talking point to disparage Obama since their leaders have failed to come up with real solutions to our real problems; jobs, jobs, and more jobs.
I noticed you went right to an irrelevant talking point rather than comment on Obama’s surge and the massive loss of American lives which was the main point of my post. And Obama’s shovel ready jobs are where? He just gave nearly a trillion dollars to his supporters and pet alternative energy projects. He stimulated his re-election campaign. He said he had all the answers when he ran for office, and now he says it was worse than he thought. He has a lot of answers, just no solutions.
Obama’s “shovel ready” jobs got blocked by the right wing nuts in Congress. Apparently they are waiting for the tax cuts for the rich to take effect and help the “job creators” create jobs.
The rest of us are still waiting for Reagan’s trickle down (or is it ‘on’?) economics to take effect.
As far as the “surge”, if Bush had listened to General Powell and used overwhelming force to begin with there would not have been a problem. Unfortunately Obama had to deal with what was there when he took office, and the increase of troops is what the military asked for.
It is always someone else’s fault. Obama has been oh so victimized by his predecessors. Who is the commander in chief ? It is not Bosh(whoever he is), and it is not Powell. It was Obama who said we needed to be in Afghanistan, and it was Obama who surged Afghanistan. The blood is on his decision and his decision alone for the young soldiers who died in Afghanistan over the last year. And the result is? Transformation as Cameron stated? The left loonies have their head in the sand.
The Afghan war was taking place when Obama took office. That is fact, not blame. He made decisions based on recommendations from his advisers and the military command. Some think no additional troops were needed, some think not enough were sent. History, or the writings of historians, will determine in hindsight what could and should have been done. Until all US troops are out any thing you or I say is irrelevant since we do not determine foreign or military policy. No one except the President and his close advisers really know what is going on and therefore what decisions need to be made. Any one claiming they know how to deal with the war is FOS.
Until an individual actually becomes President elect, they are not privileged to have all of the information necessary to make sound decisions. I am not at all surprised when a new President has to backtrack on some election promise because of it. Those calling them a liar are more likely to be trying to gain political points.
I totally agree with you. Those calling Bush a liar with regard to WMD just don’t have all the information. It is not a normal presidency when you start off with the worst attack ever on the continental United States. None of us can really understand what he went through knowing all that only the president would know.