Presidential visit

DonDaddyD

OK, for reasons that are clear to some and not to others I like Obama, he isn't a 'role model' like Greg is, but I like the guy. 50% of that like is associated with the fact that he isn't Bush and I can finally breath easily....

Still, how do you feel about his Presidential visit? I don't get the whole role out the red carpet, large scale news coverage and sudden America worship. Do we make the same allowances for other foreign dignities? The French perhaps?

What do you think the World, England, America and your local man will gain from all this hoorah?


What do you think of Obama?

sketchley

I care less about this than Wills and Kate getting married and that's only because we got a day off for the weeding. Has he said or done anything meaningful since he's been here?

CiB

I think he's the current President of the US, no more no less. Can't say I'm overwhelmed by him but he's what we've got to work with for another couple of years so let's get him onside.

He gets the big news coverage because being US Pres is bigger than being any other president, esp the French fellow tbh.

Not really on topic, but the last couple of weeks have shown what a wonderful thing Her Maj is, winning over the Irish and now winning over an obviously initially sceptical Obama. Worth her weight in gold is HM.

MonkeyMonster

more importantly - has he closed any of the roads on my way home - if so he's a c***

sketchley

What roads are closed?

DonDaddyD

CiB wrote:

I think he's the current President of the US, no more no less. Can't say I'm overwhelmed by him but he's what we've got to work with for another couple of years so let's get him onside.

You were a Bush fan weren't you?

Not really on topic, but the last couple of weeks have shown what a wonderful thing Her Maj is, winning over the Irish and now winning over an obviously initially sceptical Obama. Worth her weight in gold is HM.

This, this and this. In recent weeks having watched the Queen (never really listened or watched her before) I'm really beginning to "get it". So I agree with the above assertion.

+1!

baronsouthside

I think he has forgotten he is visiting the UK and his advisers need a lesson on the make up of the nation. Several mentions of the "queen of england" and the "queen is the best of england" arent winning him anymore fans up here. We are not the 51st, indeed Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland arent the 52nd, 53rd and 54th states either And you wonder why the SNP had a landslide?.

Agent57

Meh. That's what I think of the visit. Big deal. As for the man, I quite like him.

Jay dubbleU

Slightly less excited that the 'Burd on a Giant minibike' thread

CiB

DonDaddyD wrote:

CiB wrote:

I think he's the current President of the US, no more no less. Can't say I'm overwhelmed by him but he's what we've got to work with for another couple of years so let's get him onside.

You were a Bush fan weren't you?

Never a fan, but I used to get a bit hacked off at the BBC's endless stream of comedians and others who thought they were being witty, incisive and sharper than anyone else by making Bush out to be a blithering illiterate halfwit. It was as tired and lazy as the previous generation who just stood on stage and shouted "Fatch eh? Cow." and got a massive cheer from the student audience and the assemlbled big-wigs from the R4 talent spotters who couldn't see beyond their own lazy prejudices. Just like me in fact, only I was right and they weren't.

Obama eh? What a guy. Probably.

tailwindhome

CiB wrote:

Not really on topic, but the last couple of weeks have shown what a wonderful thing Her Maj is, winning over the Irish and now winning over an obviously initially sceptical Obama. Worth her weight in gold is HM.

The reality is that the sucess of the Queens visit to Ireland was due to probably 100's of hours of discussion and negotiation between teams of civil servants and advisors.

That said the entire visit was pitch perfect. Except for the awkward moment when she was handed a pint of Guinness and just stared blankly at it.

Obama's visit to Ireland went well also...we are however used to Presidents visiting. Love him or loath him, Clinton was a regular here for many years and is extraordinarily popular among the Irish.

mtb-idle

I couldn't give a shit

optimisticbiker

Sketchley wrote:

What roads are closed?

My route through Regents Park for one....

I would put up some stills from the video but its probably against some official secrets act or something...

Mind you some roadie blatted past me (as they do) and tried to ride through the road block... they weren't amused... and they were carrying live weapons... made him turn around and take the long way round...

deptfordmarmoset

Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be something odd going on at the moment: The president of a republic seems to be validating himself using links with a monarch. And a monarch seems to be doing a bit of validation vis-à-vis the Irish and American republics.

I quite like this but that's mostly because Nicolas Sarkozy will be being driven mad with jealousy - being in with the Pres is big, big press for the little man. The waiting will be killing him.

deptfordmarmoset

TailWindHome wrote:

CiB wrote:

Not really on topic, but the last couple of weeks have shown what a wonderful thing Her Maj is, winning over the Irish and now winning over an obviously initially sceptical Obama. Worth her weight in gold is HM.

The reality is that the sucess of the Queens visit to Ireland was due to probably 100's of hours of discussion and negotiation between teams of civil servants and advisors.

That said the entire visit was pitch perfect. Except for the awkward moment when she was handed a pint of Guinness and just stared blankly at it.

Obama's visit to Ireland went well also...we are however used to Presidents visiting. Love him or loath him, Clinton was a regular here for many years and is extraordinarily popular among the Irish.

And IMO Clinton deserves to be popular with the Irish for his committed efforts towards defusing the old Irish-British tensions. I think he also deserves to be more popular than he seems to be with the English. But there again, I always feel that US democrats have more in common with Europeans than the Republican party ever could.

el_presidente

All the time Obama was in Buckingham Palace there was a copper stationed every 10m round the entire perimeter of the gardens. The wall is 10foot high with razorwire & cameras, seemed like something of a waste of resources to me.

EKE_38BPM

el_presidente wrote:

All the time Obama was in Buckingham Palace there was a copper stationed every 10m round the entire perimeter of the gardens. The wall is 10foot high with razorwire & cameras, seemed like something of a waste of resources to me.

All security precautions are a waste of resources until you need them!

I watched some of BO's speech yesterday and it was good to hear a US Pres speak eloquently. No matter what you think of Dubya's politics, you would have to be a massive fanboy to call him a great orator.

I agree that BO made a few slips regarding England/the UK/Great Britain, but I think most of us do and we were brought up here. An outsider is bound to get it wrong occasionally. Get over it.

bails87

el_presidente
Are you jealous because you don't get the same provisions?

il_principe

There are two things I like about Obama:

1: He's black! The fact that America elected a black president, well that will always resonate. I never thought I'd see that happen.
2: His skill as an orator. His speeches are very cleverly written and very well delivered. Well worth reading.

Otherwise I'm not overly interested.

rick_chasey

DonDaddyD wrote:

OK, for reasons that are clear to some and not to others I like Obama, he isn't a 'role model' like Greg is, but I like the guy. 50% of that like is associated with the fact that he isn't Bush and I can finally breath easily....

Still, how do you feel about his Presidential visit? I don't get the whole role out the red carpet, large scale news coverage and sudden America worship. Do we make the same allowances for other foreign dignities?

What's not to get? It's a long established way of one nation recognising the position/status of another nation's leader. Anything less would be considered a snub.

What do you think the World, England, America and your local man will gain from all this hoorah?

Obama is liked at the moment in the UK still because he's a) Not Bush, b) a Republican, c) 'consensual' which is unusual for an American leader and d) not white. Cameron gains from being associated with him.

Also, some face time with the leader of one of the most powerful and rich nations, as well as a close ally, is always worth something.

What do you think of Obama?

I've always thought that Hillary Clinton would have been a better leader for America. It's partly because she was a little more left (it's all relative) than Obama, and I felt she was much stronger on the economy. I recon that Obama hasn't handled the Republican obstinance that well (untill at least, the mid-terms) and that his 'consensual' efforts don't actually chime that well for Americans. I think in that respect, Hillary would have been a stronger leader. In short, I think Obama is a little lightweight.

I also get a little irritated with his speeches, which to me, are just completely different sentences that bare so little relation to the previous one that they float aound, not doing much, and his constant "look to the left, look to the right" system grates once you've noticed.

Having said thathe's still very good. I'm just a little critical...

notsoblue

Its pretty hard to be critical of Obama's visit, you've got to be a bit of a curmudgeon to cast scorn... As for all the pomp and circumstance, surely thats mostly because we have a royal family, and thats what royal families are for. Even if you don't buy into all that, you have to concede that the whole occaision is a big "Visit England" (ok, britain) advert.

Also, as others have said, he's a great orator. Its great to hear him speak.

rick_chasey

notsoblue wrote:

Also, as others have said, he's a great orator. Its great to hear him speak.

Nooooo....

*turn to the left* This is a sentence. *turn to the right* The sky is great. *turn to the left* We all love one another. * turn to the right, then to the left* We - are - the - people.

*cheeers*

Rubbish.

notsoblue

Rick Chasey wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

Also, as others have said, he's a great orator. Its great to hear him speak.

Nooooo....

*turn to the left* This is a sentence. *turn to the right* The sky is great. *turn to the left* We all love one another. * turn to the right, then to the left* We - are - the - people.

*cheeers*

Rubbish.

You think? I admire his stance on most things. Keeping up a progressive, if a little pragmatic, view on things within the US political ecology is admirable.

il_principe

Rick Chasey wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

Also, as others have said, he's a great orator. Its great to hear him speak.

Nooooo....

*turn to the left* This is a sentence. *turn to the right* The sky is great. *turn to the left* We all love one another. * turn to the right, then to the left* We - are - the - people.

*cheeers*

Rubbish.

Erm, I think the rhetoric is a little more complex than that...

secretsam

What I gained was a bl00dy detour round Winfield House last night. Mind you, I did get to chat to one of the tooled up coppers the night before, asking him what all the barriers, etc were all about.

Obama seems a decent sort. Certainly a vast improvement on the last incumbent in the post.

Perhaps we could do a swap with the USA: Obama in exchange for Cameron.

We might need to sweeten the deal, mind...throw in Cleggy and maybe LaLa.

secretsam

CiB wrote:

Not really on topic, but the last couple of weeks have shown what a wonderful thing Her Maj is, winning over the Irish and now winning over an obviously initially sceptical Obama.

Am not a Royalist, but agree that Brenda's really looked a top notch statesman-person over the last couple of weeks, top drawer.

secretsam

baronsouthside wrote:

I think he has forgotten he is visiting the UK and his advisers need a lesson on the make up of the nation. Several mentions of the "queen of england" and the "queen is the best of england" arent winning him anymore fans up here. We are not the 51st, indeed Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland arent the 52nd, 53rd and 54th states either And you wonder why the SNP had a landslide?.

SNP and Scottish devolution? Meh, close the door on your way out.

EKE_38BPM

Rick Chasey wrote:

...and his constant "look to the left, look to the right" system grates once you've noticed...

That is because he is reading from an autocue, or rather, two autocues (one to his left, one to his right). They are on glass screens angled so that the text is legible to the speaker (in this case, the pres) but invisible to the audience.



I think the style of his speech is because he thinks about what he is saying, not just spouting whatever is written, like Ron Burgundy.