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Will any of the Presidential candidates really want to meet Jonah Brown?

As an independent from the Government, what do you think of GB's decision not to have a "(Blair)/Brown Force One at his disposal?"

- is it appropriate or excessive for the British PM to have one?

- is it beneficial to the taxpayer/voter to have the press and the PM party travelling together? (a cosy club or good for accountability)

Gordon Brown is a fake; he presents himself as friend to all candidates yet they take radically different stands on Iraq and differnt again from Brown's.

He promised withdrawal of troops when he couldn't deliver.

He promised financial stability and we got dithering and turmoil.

Questions are being asked by his own party about the authenticity of the man, that's why his visit collides so haplessly with that of the Pope. No one is certain the unelected Prime Minister will still be in his job after the May elections.

We have entered into the same surreal like state as when Blair was on his way out; no one can quite believe it has all gone so badly wrong. The difference now is no one knows how to put it right.

Like all final acts, you couldn't have made it up if you'd tried.

Dear Nick,

Who in their right mind gives a toss who Gordy sucks up to ?

While the Prime Minister is away just took a dive as big business, the Home Office, and the Information Commissioners office conspire to propagate the biggest unlawful interception, privacy invasion, and intellectual property theft in history. This foot-dragging is on par with the phoney election.

Perhaps, the Prime Minister would like to take his head out of the strategic clouds for a moment and focus on doing something more immediately useful? Breaking the ISP monopolies and the Phorm advertising platform might not win an election but allowing them to bully and cheat the people may be Labour's Poll Tax.

Just as the Americans could never fathom our rejection of Mrs T, I wonder if the Presidential candidates will wonder how on Earth Mr Brown ascended to being the leader of our great nation?

Whoever the next president is, McCavity Brown will be an irrelevance to them. The Special Relationship is a one sided, abusive one.

* Extradition
* Open Skies
* Trade policy
* Iraq
* Tariffs

And at least the next President will be elected....

General Election NOW!

Hi Nick, I think that the Americans will never show that they are actually taking in all the advice given by Gordon.
They are well aware that UK is the link to the rest on the other side of the Atlantic.

I don't think he'd mind too much which of the three win, though he would possibly see Obama as too unpredictable to be comfortable. Clinton's general political views are closer to Brown's than are McCain's, especially when it comes to domestic policy, but on foreign policy there will probably not be much between them once the election is out of the way.

Of course the candidates are likely to be interested in how Brown has managed to maintain a successful economy ( second lowest inflation in Europe, unemployment still falling, etc etc) in the face of world-wide turbulence and record oil and food prices, in spite of having the economy most open to global pressures.

Oh, and congratulations in finally getting the site sorted out. Assuming that it is, of course.

Off topic Mr R, but if this new blog platform is to be better than the last shouldn't you have someone processing comments a bit more quickly?

Nick, can you see Brown being in charge for the long haul? Long enough to forge a meaningful relationship?

What really winds me up, is Brown is a bad advert for Britain. They said Blair was too much PR, well hello, its called marketing and if were selling the ability of Britain the man in charge looks a fool. No Blair and no substance should be his new motto.

It's all very well Gordon Brown meeting the next President of the USA.

When are the three remaining candidates going to meet the next British Prime Minister, that's what I want to know.

Mr. Brown should clearly favor Sen. Obama, whose views are the most in line with the PM's views on a huge range of topics and who shares similar far-ranging goals. While they may not be as similar in terms of personality, that hardly prevented Blair and Bush from appearing chummy together.

McCain is simply far, far too conservative to work well with Gordon Brown, especially on foreign policy, and too clueless on economic policy, which he stupidly admitted to the Wall Street Journal. He wants to keep troops in Iraq forever and ramp up the hawkish rhetoric in Iran. He has been in favor of every possible use of U.S. force for the past 20+ years. He has no response whatsoever to global financial problems or the U.S. housing meltdown. If Gordon Brown wants to avoid another Bush - Blair poodle type relationship, he should pray that McCain doesn't win the election.

Hillary Clinton's centrism, much like that of her husband, will not allow for the achievements Brown seeks on global climate change or African development. Not to mention that she has been all but mathematically eliminated, and the small number of remaining undecided superdelegates are not going to vote en masse for the candidate with fewer pledged delegates, which is what a Clinton comeback would require.

Free trade is basically a non-issue, despite the talk, as the Senate will block any big changes. Whether or not the U.S. signs a few more bilateral deals with Colombia or other countries with small economies, which is the only real trade issue currently on the table, is just not a big deal. The trade issue with the biggest impact is the U.S. farm bill, a bipartisan boondoggle that goes mostly to large corporations. Yet NAFTA gets all the coverage and the farm bill is hardly ever discussed.

Not exactly a great endorsement if a British politician has to back a USA candidate.

Politicians in the UK of either side Red or Blue are as bad as each other and I certainly wouldn't want them having anything to do with me if I was running for President.

With scandal after scandal and corruption after corruption coming to light every day from the "House" who in their right mind would ever want an English politician declaring there support for them?

Tom Fullery

GB expecting to still be the dear leader by the time the presidential elections are over ?

Just when I was thinking you escaped - instead of getting 'eyeballed' they take recommend giving you a hat. Oh dear.

Good question though.

Of course McCain is an Anglo(Brito)phile - -he needs somewhere to park his planes , be the first to catch the enemy's fire and just do what is needed whether it is for the benefit of the UK or not.

Gordon Brown appears very uncomfortable when facing the media, so why did he want to be PM?

We need a good relationship with the USA. Short term reactions do no good in the long term.

But who in the Labour Party can they use? I cannot think of one MP who would carry the charisma that Tony Blair had.

I hear you're looking for a hat. Harriet Harman knows someone she wouldn't take advice on hats for.

I was thinking about Gordon Brown and, more especially about Tony Blair.

When you watch GB at the press conference with Bush, you realise quite how good TB was at the international stuff.

People were very critical of TB hanging on so long - now we see Brown in action, I think we may have an idea why.

Maybe Brown was Blair's revenge at the party that turned against him!

The unspeakable in pursuit of the laughable.

McCain may be more "predictable" on Iraq, but that doesn't mean he's right.

Hang on..... son't tell me he's back! Did he not get lost then?

Sorry Gordon I really can't imagine you as a statesman you got to be a leader first.

Hang on..... Don't tell me he's back! Did he not get lost then?

Sorry Gordon I really can't imagine you as a statesman you got to be a leader first.

Maybe Gordon has a separate agenda whilst in the US?!! Tone went there to secure his future - I wonder if Gordon sees the writing on the wall and is doing the same thing, under the guise of "making friends"?