Presidential Visit
George W Bush called John Howard the “man of steel”, invited him home to his Texas ranch, and gave him a quasi-royal reception at the White House. But he never kissed him on the cheek.
Barack Obama will deliver a peck to Julia Gillard when he arrives in Australia on Wednesday, and also will bestow the greatest gift an American president can offer a Prime Minister – proximity to his power.
It’s one of those significant indicators of transitions in global influence. Once Australian PMs hiked it to London to ramp up their status by being seen at Downing St and Buckingham Palace. Now it’s the Oval Office, and soon it might be the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Continue reading "Lickspittles, the president’s shoes demand your saliva" »
Mixing with the great and powerful on the international stage does not always give Australian prime ministers a boost in their domestic standing.
Hosting President George W. Bush and a string of other world leaders at the APEC summit just before the 2007 election did nothing to help John Howard with Australian voters.
But Labor strategists are pretty confident that next week’s visit by Barack Obama will be a positive for Julia Gillard.
Continue reading "Obama will help Gillard look positively prime ministerial" »
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Terry says:
If Tony now says “There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead”, would anyone believe him? He’s all opposition, no leadership. Bring back Malcolm Turnbull. Read more »
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Horns Up says:
No, you’re not really making much sense. Elections are not fought and won on single issues. Otherwise we’d need a hell of a lot more of them. Now here’s the bit where you really need to try and pay attention. Abbott cannot rescind the tax, keep the tax cuts and… Read more »
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