The Curse of Brown

He really doesn't seem able to get anything right at the moment. Gordon Brown has now caused a transatlantic stir with an article in 'Parliamentary Monitor' that appears to endorse a Barack Obama policy, whilst making no mention of John McCain's policies. Now it's an admittedly small slip, but it has already caused a response on the McCain/Palin website, and Brown should have been savvy enough to remember what happened when a recent, ill-fated predecessor tried to tie his party too closely to the presidential campaign of one of the candidates. John Major, who backed George Bush Snr., found himself frozen out of Washington when Bush's opponent, Bill Clinton, was elected.

Of course, it's highly likely that no-one really cares about who the British Prime Minister is supporting (and the McCain site is pretty scathing in its open contempt for Brown's support). After all, the Special Relationship has only ever existed in the minds of romantic British atlanticists - the Americans give it no credibility whatsoever.