1. We didn't get much of a chance to hear from the prime minister - his formal news conference with President Obama was canceled because of snow in the White House garden (isn't there an indoor spot for news conferences??) - but he and Obama struck all the right notes of cooperation between the traditional Allied powers in a toned-down "pool spray" news conference, pledging to coordinate fiscal stimuli and financial sector re-regulation.
I can't help but think PM Brown, who as Tony Blair's chancellor presided over the UK's financial sector deregulation and expansion of financial services as a hub industry, is in a sticky spot partnering with a president who is farther to the left on the political spectrum and whose criticisms of financial sector regulation could easily apply to Mr. Brown himself.
And for once, a U.S. president dismissed the whims of the stock market. Obama said:
"What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market, but the long-term ability for the United States and the entire world economy to regain its footing. And, you know, the stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day to day, and if you spend all your time worrying about that, then you're probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong."I for one am tired of seeing day-to-day stock market fluctuations covered as "economic" news. The stock market is obviously a good indicator of long-term growth. But markets respond to information and the perceived implications of that information - so when the markets fall, it is due to more than one factor than merely the state of the economy at any one given moment.
2. The electoral effect - How will Brown's new relationship with Obama improve the Labour party's electoral prospects? Certainly Britons may want a leader who can mesh well with the new president, and we already know Obama isn't too impressed with the prime minister-in-waiting, David Cameron.
3. Brown challenged Obama to a tennis match while conceding he'd probably lose to Obama in basketball. The duo will meet again in less than a month at the G/20 summit in London - Obama should pack his racket.
Brown will address Congress Wednesday night - tune in here for a recap of Day Two.
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1 comment:
An interesting analysis - I certainly agree that Obama's criticism of recent macroeconomic policy applies in large degrees to Brown's supposed economic miracle here in the UK. That Brown shows no contrition, no 'humility' (as his Chancellor Alistair darling called for) shows his hubris.
As for aligning with a politician further to the left, Brown is now left open to cries of hypocrisy and opportunism - whilst Obama is likely to emerge as showing us Brits how to run the show. And electorally, in the UK Brown is as lame a duck as one can imagine - the recent thoughts in political circles is that Labour's asleep-at-the-wheel economic management is what will bring the Tories to power, not any ideological backing of Cameron's policy platform, as he's as yet failed to seal the deal with the electorate.
and the thought of Brown in shorts with a racket is going to give me nightmares now...!
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