One of them is wrong. While there was some overlap in what the two leaders had to say, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, seemed rather more upbeat in his remarks before Congress Wednesday than the President was in his own just over a week ago. Even if both men favor radical reforms in governance, domestic and international, Prime Minister Brown managed in his remarks stateside to be upbeat, much like FDR himself. Little of substance emerged from the British Prime Minister’s comments, though, of note, Senator Edward Kennedy, brother of assassinated former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, will be receiving an honorary knighthood from the British monarch.

Unfortunately, the British Prime Minister saw fit too woo the President and Congress on the particular stimulus package passed. To some, his may well be a sign of the increasingly unbalanced “special relationship” shared historically between the anglophone powers on either side of the Atlantic. Gordon Brown, however, does not need to impress American audiences who far too often have never heard of him, but rather those back in Britain who are legitimately and increasingly skeptical of his leadership. While President Obama happens to surround himself with Clinton-era and Bush-era staffers (including individuals such as Tim Geithner who arguably served both) tainted by the current economic situation in the United States, Gordon Brown happens to have been he man managing British finances during the premiership of Tony Blair.   

If the British government really seeks American leadership in combatting the global recession, then in the near term if not long term, the leadership  across the pond should be willing to criticize the innecessity of President Obama’s budgetary largesse. Likewise, if Republicans are tired of the obsession the U.S. media has with Rush Limbaugh being himself instead of reporting real news, they should drive the wedge where an opening seemingly exists between Gordon Brown and Barack Obama.

Last 5 posts by James Kane

• A November to Remember - November 8th, 2010
• On hope and fear - October 18th, 2010
• Expecting Different Results - September 12th, 2010
• A glaring omission on Iraq - August 31st, 2010
• Employing a losing strategy - August 7th, 2010