Reidblog [The Reid Report blog]

Barack Obama winds down his world tour in the U.K., where he shared a hot mic with Tory leader David Cameron, before holding a closed door meeting with embattled Labour P.M. Gordon Brown (whose party may be looking to dump him soon.) Says the Guardian of the meeting:

Barack Obama today spoke of America's "deep and abiding affection" for the UK as he ended his lengthy global charm offensive tour with talks with Gordon Brown in London.

The Democratic party candidate, who flew in last night from Paris, spent about 20 minutes answering questions outside Downing Street after two hours of discussions with the prime minister.

Much of the talks concerned Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change and the state of the global economy, Obama said. He called for the "burden" of Afghanistan to be more evenly shared while praising the UK's military efforts, saying: "I know the troops here have paid a heavy price for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Aside from addressing domestic political issues – notably jibes from his Republican opponent, John McCain, that he is revelling excessively in overseas acclaim – Obama stuck mainly to generalities, as he has done for much of a trip that has already taken him to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Germany and France.

Noting the US and UK's common linguistic and institutional heritage, Obama spoke of the "deep and abiding affection for the British people in America, and a fascination for all things British that is not going to go away any time soon".

Brown remained inside as Obama spoke and posed for pictures with him in the Downing Street garden, not on the front steps.

While the PM, who faces persistent questions about his future after Thursday's Glasgow East byelection defeat, would most likely enjoy basking in Obama's reflected star quality, he is bound by protocol. When McCain visited London in May, there were no joint press conferences or appearances on the Downing Street steps, meaning Brown had to do the same for the Democrat.

The Independent makes it even more plain in summarizing Obama's European visit:

Enter Obama, pursued by politicians desperate to bask in his reflected glory

(Photo with Jesus in it from the Guardian)

[Back to the Independent...] Barack Obama arrived in London last night from Paris on his plane, nicknamed "Obama One", having conquered continental Europe and been anointed with headlines of "Obamania" in European newspapers.

After emerging from the aircraft – which has his catchphrase "Change we can believe in" printed on its side – a relaxed Mr Obama met the American ambassador, Robert Tuttle, and his wife, Maria, before greeting the waiting press. The presidential candidate and his entourage were then driven to their West End hotel, the Hyatt Regency London near Marble Arch, in a convoy of black Mercedes people carriers.

In Paris, where opinion polls mirror those across Europe by showing public support for his candidacy as US president, he appeared to have won the unofficial endorsement of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who praised him effusively at a news conference. Mr Obama and the French President emerged from talks that focused on the hot spots toured by Mr Obama on his international trip: Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Mr Obama successfully played the political rock star in Berlin with the only public event of his global tour, when he delivered a speech to more than 200,000 Germans in the city's central Tiergarten.

Mr Brown could have bathed in the reflected glory of the Democratic presidential candidate by holding a joint press conference with him today after their scheduled 45-minute meeting. However, he is forbidden by protocol from doing this as he did not hold a press conference with John McCain, the Republican candidate, last May.

M. Sarkozy threw such diplomatic niceties to the winds yesterday, having allowed Mr McCain to answer journalists' questions alone outside the Elysée Palace during his visit. The French President, whose popularity ratings are as dismal as those of Mr Brown, clearly hoped for a "bounce" as he revelled in the presence of Mr Obama, whom he described as "my mate" in Le Figaro.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has no such bounce on the horizon. His party appears ready to turn him out the door...

Back to Obama. He and his camp are busy lowering expectations for the aftermath of the trip, with Obama agreeing with naysaying pundits who suggest that the trip could actually hurt him politically.

LONDON -- "I am not sure that there is going to be some immediate political impact," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, told reporters today about his eight-day, eight-country world tour.

"I wouldn’t even be surprised if that in some polls that you saw a little bit of a dip as a consequence we have been out of the country for a week," he said. "People are worried about gas prices and home foreclosures."

Any guesses what the campaign will be focused on next week?

But for now, Obama will own the Sunday shows, although I'm expecting Stephanopolous and the folks at Fox to lead the charge in damning the trip as a political mistake, and I expect George and his new friends on the right to harp on the scrubbed visit to wounded troops in Germany as part of their "save McCain" salvo.

Next up, the Sun tracks down Barack's half-brother in London who ... wait for it ... is a Muslim! Oh, I can just see the Fox News breaking developments banner now!

The Sun was the first newspaper to track down and speak to Bernard Obama, 37.

And he said of Democrat candidate Barack: “I’m very proud of my big brother.

“It’s quite a funny feeling that he might be the next President of the USA.”

Muslim Bernard — an avid Manchester United fan and Sun reader — is staying with his bingo-loving mum Kezia, 67, who has lived in the Berkshire new town for six years.

He was glued to the TV news in the modest suburban bungalow last night as Barack, 46, was due to arrive in Britain.

Bernard leads a quiet life, running a car parts firm in Nairobi, Kenya.

But he is a regular visitor to the UK to visit Elvis fan Kezia.

She married Barack Obama Snr in Kenya in 1957 when she was a teenager.

He later left for the US and went on to meet Ann Dunham, who gave birth to his now widely acclaimed son.

And in a story I can directly relate to, Barack Sr. then returned to Kenya and had two more kids with Kezia (if he's anything like my father, he was married to both women at the same time...)

Anyhow, let's get the last word from the BBC:

Speaking outside Downing Street, Mr Obama, who is on the final part of the European leg of his tour, also thanked the British people for their support in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I know that the troops here in Great Britain have borne a heavy price for wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and I think the American people are grateful for all the help that has been provided," he said.

"The prime minister's emphasis - like mine - is on how we can strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship to solve problems that can't be solved by any single country individually," he added.

Mr Obama spoke of a "deep and abiding affection for the British people in America and a fascination with all things British".

He also referred to a shared history and the role of the "English tradition" in shaping the US constitution.

"We've been through two world wars together," he said.

"We speak a common language. We share a belief in rule of law and due process."

Or at least we did share a belief in the rule of law and due process, before the Bush crowd came along. And with any luck, we will again.

And with that, it's bye-bye Europe, and back to the good old, U.S.A.


(See more great pics from The Guardian's Obama slide show here.)

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