McCain snubs Brown
Fraser Nelson 8:30pm
Gordon Brown will now be regretting briefing this morning that he was going to meet John McCain. The senator has pulled out (he could take the Vietcong, says Iain Martin, but not an hour with Brown). His (cancelled) destination was Germany but it does make you wonder how seriously John McCain takes the UK-US special relationship? Now that Giuliani is out, is there a single presidential contender that has mentioned Britain in speeches? France, yes, Germany, yes – but what about Britain? McCain’s focus is more on Brussels. This from his Foreign Affairs article: "Americans should welcome the rise of a strong, confident European Union. The future of the transatlantic relationship lies in confronting the challenges of the twenty-first century worldwide: developing a common energy policy, creating a transatlantic common market tying our economies more closely together, and institutionalizing our cooperation on issues such as climate change, foreign assistance, and democracy promotion."
(hat-tip: Iain Murray)
P.S. The Tories can’t crow – remember Arnie? And he didn’t have an election to cite as an excuse.
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Comments
Ray
February 6th, 2008 9:18pmIt makes one wonder whether the late Alan Clark wasn't right when he contended that, in a cold, calculating assessment of America's own vital interests, the United Kingdom won't one day find itself as expendable as Taiwan.
George Steiner
February 6th, 2008 10:10pmWhat US-Uk special relationship? Is this the one where the UK panders to Islamists at home and Muslim sensibilities in general? Is this the one where The UK leaves southern Irak in the hands of the Shia militias? Is this the one where the UK's military is getting more and more feable by the months? Is this the one where the socialist UK government is becomming just another province of Europe? Is this the one where the British elite likes nothing better then a good daily sneer at the Americans? Maybe Mr. Brown should spend a couple of days in a simulated Hanoi Hilton.
Adam
February 6th, 2008 11:14pmNot sure if it's because he doesn't attach great importance to the special relationship with Britain.
His New York Director (Richard Nixon's grandson) said yesterday that JM hoped to have the nomination in the bag by the end of the night so that he could meet foreign leaders and look Presidential while the Democrats scrapped it out. He didn't wrap it up so he needs to do more campaigning hence the cancellations.
R. C. Wyer
February 7th, 2008 9:00amIt is indeed interesting that McCain's formative experience came in a war that Britain (rightly) snubbed. He is unlikely to have quite the Anglophilia of a Rudy Giuliani. That said, the close relationship between Britain and the US is driven by shared values and interests rather than personalities. That won't change under McCain (or, indeed, Obama/Clinton). A lot of the spiel we hear before elections becomes meaningless when a canidate occupies the Oval office and finds himself confronted with the real world.
Travis Bickle
February 7th, 2008 9:56amAfter Brown's treachery over the EU constitution any US President knows full well that meeting with the British Premier would be as useful as wanting to do a deal with Spain and arranging a meeting with the Mayor of Valencia, or speaking to the tea boy in a major corporation.
Maisie
February 7th, 2008 9:59am"What US-Uk special relationship? Is this the one where the UK panders to Islamists at home and Muslim sensibilities in general?" Irak?!? No it's a relationship where Britain grovels and panders to every whim of that madman in the Whitehouse. Depressing. Can we have our independence back? Can we stand up for our own interests - for a change?
William Norton
February 7th, 2008 12:00pmIt will be interesting to see McCain get "a transatlantic common market tying our economies more closely together" through Congress. Or is he planning to pick off EU members one by one and entice them into NAFTA?
Peter Hulse
February 7th, 2008 1:30pmIt was my understanding that he was actually going to a NATO meeting in order to look more presidential, and that meeting Gordon Brown was just a by-blow. And he now thinks it would look like taking the Republican primaries too lightly if he went around looking presidential. Though not being able to cope with an hour of Gordon might come into it, of course.
Sandy Hurt-Norris
February 7th, 2008 2:56pmI think most of us in America would welcome a strong Europe who will take care of their own defense. We look with a wary eye toward Europe as a whole (remembering only England stood up to Hitler) Most of us would like to see a closing down of U.S. military bases in Germany. Funny, how no one talks about us (American taxpayers)supporting the defense of Europe for 60 years but will cringe at the idea of us being a presence in Iraq until they are stable. But while Europe enjoys being as anti-American as possible, the ones of us who descend from the English are quite proud of the connection and realize our laws evolved from the English Common Law and fervently hope we always keep a frienship with England.