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Obama seems everywhere as he takes global stage
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-02 14:56 LONDON – He talked nuclear threats with Russia's president and gave an iPod to the queen.
And that was only the beginning. It was an eventful first day on the world stage for President Barack Obama, launching new arms control talks, placing China ties on fresh footing and calming fears about the ailing US economy - seemingly everywhere, relaxed and smiling all the while. While wife Michelle attracted breathless attention with every stop, fashionable outfit and sip of tea. The new US president, in London for Thursday's high-stakes global summit on the financial meltdown, dashed through a dawn-to-dark schedule Wednesday despite the effects of a head cold.
He was asked to give a pep talk to England's soccer team for its World Cup qualifying match (he politely declined) and to offer campaign tips to embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ("good policy is good politics," he said). There was even a chance to talk dinosaurs with Brown's young sons - and to snare two hours of quality time with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. "Michelle has been really thinking that through," Obama said, presumably referring to the daunting clothes dilemma posed by an audience with royalty. Mrs. Obama chose a black skirt and sweater over a white top and a double strand of large pearls. Before that meeting at the palace: diplomacy of a different sort. Brown, his dour demeanor one factor in his shaky political standing, said effusively that Obama had provided "renewed hope" all around the world. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose nation has often assailed the US, offered his own praise, albeit more measured. His first meeting with Obama, he said, left him "far more optimistic" about Washington-Moscow relations. Undeterred by his cold, Obama held a whirlwind of one-on-one talks with those and other leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao. He aimed not just to lay the groundwork for Thursday's summit of the 20 largest wealthy and developing economies but also more broadly to initiate a new era in American foreign relations. His first task was a little repair job. British feelings were hurt by what was perceived as a bit of a cold shoulder from Obama toward Brown when the British leader visited Washington last month. So when Obama and Brown appeared together before American and British reporters, Obama bent over backward to show his affection for both host and host country. The lengthy round of questions made up for the slight of no news conference in Washington, and Obama took special care to note that the talks with Brown were his first official stop on his first overseas trip. "The United States and the United Kingdom have stood together through thick and thin, through war and peace, through hard times and prosperity, and we've always emerged stronger by standing together," Obama said next to a beaming Brown. |
