British Leaders Hail Obama, Then Clash

11 November 2008 |permalink | email article

Grasping British politics means watching “Question Time” in the Commons on C-SPAN. It’s a a rich experience in the art of rough and tumble.

The leaders of Britain’s three major parties all praised Barack Obama’s huge victory last week. Both Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron also paid tribute to Republican John McCain.

From that moment on Brown and Cameron clashed in the Commons over what parallels could be drawn from Obama’s win, leading Labor’s International Development Secretary to tell the BBC the heated exchange was a “very British welcome.” Indeed.

Ironically, the Conservative leader said the change offered by Obama contrasted with Labor’s offer of “more of the same.”

The PM, whose flagging leadership was revived by how he dealt with the British economic crisis, said Obama won because he was a “serious man for serious times” and embodied “progressive values” shared by Labor.

Cameron said Obama had restored America’s status as “a beacon of hope,“ and hammered on the theme of how long voters will have to put up with a failed government with general elections on the horizon.

Brown snapped that Conservatives had opposed all of the policies to support the troubled U.S. economy Obama had endorsed, adding that the “only change they represent is that they change their minds every week.”

The prime minister, who met Obama in London during the summer, said he shared “many values” with him. In reality, Brown is better positioned than the Tories to maintain a strong relationship with the White House starting on Jan. 20.

I have long felt that the House of Representatives should have a televised American version of Question Time each week to engage the body politic. Let Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner square off and watch cable ratings soar.

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