Barack and Michelles European Adventure.docx

1、Barack and Michelles European AdventureWeekend Opinionator: Barack and Michelles European AdventureBy Tobin HarshawThe last time a president traveled to Europe during his first 100 days in office, perhaps the most enlightening moment of the journey had more to do with fashion than foreign policy. St

2、epping off the plane in Paris in February 1969, Richard Nixon had a moment of sartorial panic, according to his biographer Richard Reeves: ” Here we go Vive la France! Nixon said as he walked to the door to meet President de Gaulle at the bottom of the planes steps. He saw that his host was wearing

3、no coat in the bitter cold and stripped his own overcoat off before he stepped out the door.” This was important? It sure was, says Robert B. Semple Jr., now a Pulitzer Prize-winning member of The Timess editorial board but then a young pup in the White House press corps. “John Kennedy was always po

4、pping up hatless and without a top coat,” Semple told me. “Nixon always, like Lyndon Johnson, suffered from J.F.K. envy. On a foreign trip he knew the issues better than anybody, but he didnt have the panache or personal flair that a guy like Kennedy would bring to it.” Forget the G-20 and NATO all

5、the European press and bloggers wanted to talk about was the presence of the first couple. Theres no need to dwell on what Nixons personality quirks, or “inner demons” as pundits are so fond of calling them, did to the nation. But in the sense that the Nixon overcoat story fits into the greater theo

6、ry of character being destiny, perhaps the mania for minutiae that the British and European press and bloggers showed for every seemingly minor detail of Barack and Michelle Obamas trip to the Old World will not seem so trivial when the history of our age is written. In fact, you could argue that th

7、e scrutiny of every bit of symbolism and decorum over the last few days was far more justified than it would have been 40 years ago. Barack Obama is a rock star and especially after her larger-than-life showing in London Michelles profile is rivaling his. His presence at the G-20 and NATO meetings m

8、eant far less to him than it did to the embattled heads of state who scurried to get into the picture frame beside him. Lets face it, few and far between were the foreign leaders who wanted to bask in the glow of Richard Nixon. Bearing all this in mind, then, lets take a look at how the president an

9、d first lady were received by the chattering classes across the pond, on everything from I.M.F. funding and trans-Atlantic defense to handshaking bobbies and royal iPods.Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian felt that, in his press conference with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the president got a bit sh

10、own up by his host:Obama remains the global superstar with a fresh mandate, Brown the ailing prime minister with anemic poll numbers whose last victory in a competitive election was for his Kirkcaldy seat.And yet, thats not quite how it played out. Brown was relaxed and fluent at the podium, while i

11、t was Obama who gave the more faltering, sometimes long-winded performance. Obama appeared to be stumped twice, first by a question from the BBCs Nick Robinson which invited the president to wonder why France and Germany blame the US for the recession and next by a deceptively simple inquiry from a

12、member of the travelling press corps: does the president advise ordinary Americans to spend or save? One brought audible hesitation; the other a bit of a ramble as Obama visibly tried to work out what to say.Brown, by contrast, was all confidence. On the spend or save question, he delivered a short,

13、 clear answer: it was governments job to take the right steps so that people could confidently make whatever decision was best for them. True, Brown had had time to think about it, but it was the answer Obama had been groping for.What explains the difference? One superficial suggestion: Obama sounde

14、d as though he had a cold, his voice foggier and less clear than usual. He has reportedly been feeling the physical strain of the job. Or it might simply have been a touch of jet lag. But a couple of charming asides about Browns childrens interest in dinosaurs and about the Queen apart he was not at

15、 his best.As for Brown, the explanation is probably fairly simple. This was the moment he had been waiting for, at least since Obamas election last November. He had craved this chance, to stand alongside the worlds most popular leader; indeed, his strategy for re-election appears to be all but built

16、 on it. So, when Obama praised Browns “extraordinary initiative and leadership” and then said the world owed him “an extraordinary debt of gratitude”, the PM was a picture of delight. Later, just watching Obama speak, apparently in no hurry for the press conference ever to end, Brown leaned on his l

17、ectern wearing an expression that he may never before have revealed in public: simple contentment. The Timess Peter Riddell, however, thinks any boost for Brown will be short lived:Gordon Brown should enjoy his moment on the global stage. He has undoubtedly had a diplomatic success in chairing the G

18、20 summit; however, it is unlikely to last.Like many previous prime ministers, he will soon discover the harsh contrast between the glow of international summitry and the brutal realities of domestic politics. Voters are an unforgiving lot. They like to see their leaders being taken seriously, but t

19、here is no evidence that past summits have made any real difference domestically.Mr Brown may see an immediate boost to his poll ratings after all the publicity, photo opportunities and even praise this week, but I doubt if it will last beyond Easter.The Evening Standards Paul Waugh feels that it wa

20、s Obama who saved Browns bacon:Much ink will be spilled tonight and tomorrow about Gordon Brown personally securing various victories in the G20 London summit.But heres a fascinating clue to the real power broker. Conducting himself assuredly as if he were a summit veteran rather than a first-timer,

21、 Barack Obama appears to have been the crucial player in securing a form of words on the thorny issue of tax havens.American sources have now revealed that it was the US President who stepped in to knock heads together (in the nicest possible way) to get Sarko and Chinas President Hu to come to an a

22、greement.In the final plenary session with just minutes to go before a deal had to be signed, Sarkozy and Hu were having a heated disagreement about tax havens. France wants urgent action, while China fears a crackdown would hurt banking centers in Macao, Shanghai and Hong Kong.As they went through

23、a revised draft, the exchange between Sarkozy and Hu got so heated that it was threatening the unity of the G-20 leaders meeting.Sarkozy specifically was pushing for a list from the OECD to be included in the G20 Leaders Statement. China, which is not a party to the OECD, opposed any such list being

24、 included in the final Leaders Statement.But Mr. Obama stepped between the two men, urging them to try to find consensus, and giving them a “pep talk” about the importance of working together.The Guardians Alexander Chancellor feels that even if Obama hadnt said much more than “Dont worry, be happy,

25、” hed still be a force for good:Despite the economic gloom, Barack Obama is sticking to his message of hope, forecasting better times ahead, warning against fear and despondency, and urging people not to “short-change the future” by taking decisions based on pessimism. He has even tried to cheer up

26、Gordon Brown, by telling him at their joint press conference on Wednesday that if he wakes up every morning trying to do the right and noble thing, he may even find, to his surprise, that he isnt finished politically.Whatever happens, Obama is right to try to keep up peoples spirits, for confidence

27、among ordinary people is just as important as confidence in the financial markets for pulling us out of this slump. And it is even more important for peoples health, energy and well being, as the president appears to realise.As for the substance of the G20 meetings, while many feel that the Anglo-Am

28、erican side put on over on the Europeans, the Spectators Fraser Nelson gives 10 reasons that he feels Messrs. Obama and Brown achieved an empty victory. Britain has as its Prime Minister a master of political illusion. He may not be much of an orator, but there is no one better at dressing up old mo

29、ney as new. If the G20 nations wanted to fake progress, to spin a $1.1 trillion figure while committing no new money at all, then Gordon Brown is their man. “This is the day that the world came together to fight the global recession, not with words but with a plan,” said our Dear Leader. Well, lets

30、have a closer look at this supposed plan1) “Making available an extra $1 trillion”. Ahh, those Brown verbal tricks. What does “make available” mean? Is it guarantees, promises, statement of intent? Real spending? Not a penny of cold hard cash has been pledged by anyone. The sum is concocted by takin

31、g the IMFs pre-existing $500bn target for its bailout fund (a target it still hasnt met), adding another $250bn to the target. And, then, we add a $250bn fund which the IMF would create by printing its own special money Clive Crook, the Financial Timess man in Washington, had similar thoughts expres

32、sed at the National Journal blog:Valuable as entrenching the G-20 and reviving the IMF may be, though, the most urgent need at this summit was to deal with the immediate danger of a worsening global slump. Designing a coordinated fiscal stimulus to expand global demand, keep people at work, and relieve the pressure for competitive devaluation and new trade restrictions the means by which governments traditionally try to export their unemployment was the prize that mattered most. Why has reaching agreement on this proved so difficult?The challenge of running s