Brown gets his Oval Office moment

Oor Wullie

As usual Brown smiled at all the wrong times--for example when he started to talk about there being a global financial crisis. From what I saw he hardly got a chance to speak, with Obama hogging the show. No-one asked Brown the killer question "Did the global crisis start in America?"
I think Obama was well briefed by his advisors on how much rope to give to Brown. Not much.

Sally Chatterjee

All this effort, for what? Forget Obama and international finance, Brown needs to get a grip with the weakness of the UK economy as well as a squabbling Cabinet. Lunching with the US President looks like a distraction, as if he's escaping problems at home.

Bob Frost

'But importantly, Obama did say "special" to describe the US-UK relationship,'

As a teacher we also have some pupils we refer to as 'special'....

teledu

All very true regarding Blair's silky smooth approach and brown's gauchness. But oh why can't we just have a leader with integrity?
I wouldn't care if such a PM appeared in front of the worlds press with a bogey on the end of his nose - just so long as he/she had integrity. Is that too much to expect of politicians nowadays?

Boudicca

Brown's desperate attempts to cosy up to Obama are a national embarrassment and quite pathetic.

After Obama went off Brown's message by saying that mistakes had been made in banking regulation, Brown managed to get in his usual little monologue about a crisis in the global banking system .... nevermind there's been no crisis in Australia, Canada or others. He certainly wasn't going to follow Obama (or Alistair Darling today) and admit that mistakes were made on his watch.

richardj

Unelected!

jon dee

With stiff servile body-language and childlike attention seeking, Brown paraded his vanity to embarrassing effect.

If it was not so serious it would be laughable.

Ray

Yawn!

Nicholas

Hope he offset his carbon emissions jetting around like that. Of course he can't offset his hot air and flannel.

The New Labour misfits really do believe Obamarama will save them - idiots.

Chuck Unsworth

Yes a striking differences in terms. 'Barack' and 'Prime Minister Brown'. It's an indicator of how little Brown understands of the Americans - and everything else.

Stalin MacJock

@ teledu

There is no chance of MacSporran appearing in public with a bogey on the end of his nose, frankly. MacSporran prefers to eat rather than display his bogies, sometimes on television.

TomTom

Well Obama is a real waffler - he doesn't know how to be concise. Bush sounded positively effervescent in contrast - if he doesn't improve from law professor addressing seminar he will be dead meat by year end as far as poll ratings go.

Will Obama solve the economic mess - I very much doubt it - but he'll talk about it though without a script he sounds really unfocussed

Sidevalve

The trouble with Brown's smile it that it looks unmistakeably like the smile of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. It actually makes him look rather unsettling and as if he ought to be locked up in an institution. Come to think of it, that's not such a bad idea...

Tom Pride

It was knocked way back in the TV bulletins by the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Andy

"it's generally believed that what Brown's out to rescue in America — as much as the world economy — is his own political future" Correct, except for the bit about rescuing the world economy.

mac

So that's a photo with the President in the White House to add to the one with the Pope. Just one more as the G20 host then Gordon's got his set of prime ministerial mementoes for his desk in North Quensferry. (I doubt there'll be one of him in his dark suit with British troops in Afghanistan.)

Yes, Gordon, you've done what Tony did. You've been Prime Minister. Now, please, bugger off.

JimBob

Outstanding rejection from Obama. I never doubted his judgement but he's done more damage to Brown in 30 minutes than the Tories have done in the last 2 years.

RobertD

Unelectable

CS

***then a handful of journalists took questions from behind the sofa***

What is this? The West Wing or Doctor Who?

CS

Am I the only one who finds this knee-clenched need for America to confirm that we have a Special Relationship entirely humiliating?

Trumpeter Lanfried

The sight of the reporters lurking behind the sofa was hilarious.

The sight of Obama struggling to say something agreeable while his thoughts were on other, more important, matters was faintly embarassing.

The sight of Brown repeating his carefully crafted soundbite was pathetic.

DSS

Bob Frost - your comment made me laugh out loud.

How things have changed from when Obama came to Europe.

John McDougal

That picture makes me ashamed to be British. No wonder English nationalism is making a comeback.

Travis Bickle

Unrequited love.

carol42

I winced when Brown called the President Barak, it just sounded so wrong. Also surprised that Barak sounds so much less articulate without the prompt. He seems a nice man but then so did Tony Blair and look where that led us, I just hope America has not made the same mistake and elected another charming but useless leader.

David

I wonder if Mrs. T was watching and drooling?

michael m

The most telling thing was when the President was asked about his relationship with Brown. He said " I would like to think.." that said everything!

Roger Thornhill

(a gift from Blair, that Obama actually sent back to No10)

Shove it in a box in the cellar, by all means, but surely this item is not Obama's to discard?

Hawkeye

Eh? Brown was in Washington? How come the Earth did not stop? Why was there no choirs of angels singing his praises? Was it just me or did nobody notice anything significant?

If Brown thinks this will rescue him then he's more deluded than I thought.

Anan

Brown gets his Oval Office moment - followed 30 minutes later by the Boy Scouts of America. They had a detailed report to present so Brown's time slot had to be shortened. Brown got trumped by a bunch of Scouts. And his attempts at sucking up were pretty poor too "Let's play tennis, but I'm sure you're better than me" he said. Obama was not impressed in the slightest. Brown should be ashamed of himself.

C Powell

I yield to no-one in my detestation of Brown. Nonetheless, he is our PM and the way the White House treated him was a disgraceful - and petty -snub to Britain, especially when our servicemen and women are fighting and dying in Afghanistan in America's war.

Duc de Blangis

Bill Haydon, in Le Carré’s 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', states that Britain is America’s streetwalker. It’s now clear that we kiss.

Bob P

Are you all crazy? Brown has been given a chance to address congress on his first visit. Compare those formalities to those extended to Blair. And Fraser do you really think the Colgate moment made Blair look good you really are quite delusional.

mitch

Well he got to sit at the feet of a real elected leader.
It was toe curlingly embarrassing to watch and makes me hate him more for humiliating the UK for his vanity.

Patrick

Not so much,
'Yo!... Brown'
more like,
'Yuck!.....Brown'

Rhoda Klapp

C Powell has it right. Even GB has to be treated with respect as a representative of the UK. Personal Schadenfreude aside, this isn't a good day for our country. There is no indication that Obama has a world view, anything outside the beltway or the loop is unimportant to him. This will come back and bite him some day.

Mike, Brighton

It was just buttock-clinchingly embarrassing. Do we relly have to suffer 14 more months of shame and embarrassment with this woefully unsuitable man as our PM?

TPR

Problem is Brown garners no respect and inspires zero confidence. Yesterday's man!

When he talks about the "global crisis" he can't help but grin from ear to ear (as has been observed, at all the wrong moments) and choose his words as if explaining the problem to idiots. Loathsome!

Pete Clark

C Powell - I though Broon was Scotland's PM, not ours? Surely someone must have elected him?

The Bellman

CS @ 9.24pm: Very funny!

Stalin MacJock

Very funny comment on Guido -

Obama: "Yo Brown!"
Broon: "So are you."

Did Broon hang around to meet the Boy Scouts of America? It's just that, with that creepy grin of his, it's hard to avoid the feeling that they are the real reason he went...

luke

This is all a bit spinny frasier. What makes it a losers chair?

Hysteria

I think some of us have lost a little objectivity in respect of the Dear Leader's performance. It wasn't THAT bad....

But Obama really struggles without an autocue..

David Ossitt

Luke.

The answer to your question is simple; Gordon was sat on it.

Hereford

If you want a humourous take on this go to the Daily Mash where there is an article entitled "Obama obviously has a new watch, says Brown"

It is a hoot.

JONNY

At least no one will say of Brown: there's some shit he won't eat.

Hereford

"Also Brown was foolish enough to sit by an aircraft window as his aides came at him with a hairbrush, trying to make him look presentable as he made his way down the aircraft steps. The cameras caught it all, and Channel Four showed it."

For a hilareous take on this see the Daily Squib article here:

http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?c=117&a=1691

Kaiser

Man, what's Obama doing? The UK is one of our best and closest allies. Their prime minister doesn't deserve to be treated this way, no matter how unpopular.

Same goes for Bush and the "shoe incident". Where was the Secret Service? They sould have been ready to take that shoe, but the guy was able to throw his second shoe before being stopped.

Diplomats and officials of our allies should be treated well, not snubbed so Obama can show off his popularity.