LONDON – Having dispensed with global economics, nuclear proliferation and international politics, there were still a few things British reporters wanted to ask President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
What advice would you give Prime Minister Gordon Brown? What do you make of England’s chances in the World Cup? And what do you like best about the U.K.?
Obama laughed. It was the final barrage of inquiries in a pretty issues-heavy joint news conference with Brown after the two met privately at 10 Downing Street.
“I have had enough trouble back home picking my brackets for the college basketball tournament that’s taking place there — called March Madness. Stirred up all kinds of controversy,” Obama said. “The last thing I am going to do is wade into European football. I didn’t get a briefing on that, but I sense that would be a mistake.”
His political advice for Brown? “Over time, good policy is good politics.” As for what he likes best, Obama said the British people — including Queen Elizabeth II.
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While their husbands bonded, first lady Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown, wife of the British prime minister, visited Maggie’s Place, a London facility where cancer patients and their families can go for support and assistance.
Noted in the White House pool report: Obama wore a green pencil skirt, a cream-colored sparkly cardigan, very high heels and pearls. Her clothes were from J. Crew.
Visiting with patients, the first lady was asked about the new White House kitchen garden, and she mentioned it would also have a beehive.
One woman acted surprised, to which the first lady laughed and said, “We have a big lawn.”
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For those who covered former President George W. Bush’s interactions with Gordon Brown, the contrast between those encounters and Brown’s meeting with Obama were unmistakable.
The prime minister, widely regarded as stodgy — he once wore a suit to vacation at the beach — was all smiles and warm regard for Obama, whom he called “Barack.”
Despite reports of friction behind the scenes about economic recovery plans and other issues, the two were jovial and friendly, with none of the awkward, forced, friends-because-we-have-to-be tenor that characterized meetings between Bush and Brown.
“We share a personal friendship,” Brown said.
