Live Blogging Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Address to the Joint Meeting of Congress

Ted Bromund / March 04, 2009

Expectations for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s address to the joint meeting of Congress this morning were low. His visit so far has been devoid of highlights. His joint press conference with Obama on Tuesday was canceled, supposedly because of the weather, which was a snub Tony Blair never endured.

At bottom, the reality is that Brown is desperately unpopular in Britain, and must simply be grateful if any of Obama’s popularity rubs off on him. Because he wants a lot but can deliver little, no one in the Administration, or out of it, has been eager to do him any favors, or even pay him much mind. That in itself, think what one will about Brown himself, is a sad commentary on Britain’s state today.

His address to Congress needed to be something spectacular. It was not: it was the speech he was expected to give. His repeated compliments to Obama went well beyond the norm, and pointed to the fact that this visit has as much to do with his domestic standing in Britain as to his response to the global financial crash. (more…)