Guest Author - Jan Harper
Barack Obama visited London this week as part of his world tour. He told Prime Minister Gordon Brown that London was the highlight of his trip. Mr. Brown welcomed his guest to his home at 10 Downing Street but protocol demanded that Sen. Obama should not be met on the doorstep with a handshake. This privilege is reserved for world leaders in office.
Gordon Brown talked of past presidents but the Senator offered no advice for the unpopular Prime Minister, who is currently battling to stay in control of his party and hold on to his position in the UK Government. His guest did, however, say that it's always the way that politicians are popular before they are elected and that once they start doing the job they always get the blame and make some people unhappy.
During this one day stopover the two talked about ideas and possibilities surrounding the renewal of recently strained transatlantic relationships. This was of course, a hypothetical discussion but strengthening relations was definitely top of the list.
Mr Obama said that he had had a wonderful visit to London and to Gordon Brown's home and that they discussed matters which are of paramount importance to both countries.
When asked by TV reporters how the meeting with Gordon Brown went, Barack Obama replied succinctly, 'Fine', to the cheers of the crowd. He said that the US is a diverse culture but founding institutions were 'profoundly shaped by English tradition.'
A huge crowd applauded the presidential candidate, who seems to be popular in UK. This reception was apparently nowhere near as warm as that extended to the would be President when he visited Germany where as many as 70% of the population would like to see him become the next US President.
Barack Obama is popular in UK because he represents a different kind of US President. He is very different from George Bush and represents multi-lateral policies with regard to world events, not the uni-lateral approach that is being operated at the present time.
The view of the general public as demonstrated by interviews on Sky TV seems to be that Barack Obama would be less aggressive in his approach to situations like Iraq, Iran, Middle East and Afghanistan and that he would be less likely to try to resolve world events by force. Senator Obama got an ovation and cheers from the crowd of onlookers and this was really something for a foreign visitor who only 'might be' the next President of America.
Previous Presidential visits to London include the 2003 State visit of President George Bush and his wife who were received by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. They were met at the airport by Prince Charles. The last time an American President had stayed at the Palace had been Woodrow Wilson in 1918.Security cost £5 million pounds and 5000 extra police were put on the streets. The President visited again in June 2008.
Barack Obama seems to attract crowds wherever he goes in the world and the warmth of the crowds surprised even his own support team. He is seen by many across the world as a 'breath of fresh air' but the thing that really counts is how he is seen at home.
