245 lines
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245 lines
8.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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worldnews
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barackobama
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8536541
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# Barack Obama's speech failed to live up to his own high standards
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## The pictures were better than the words. President Barack Obama is a
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brilliant speaker, but also a very polite man, and in Westminster Hall his
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oratorical inspiration was smothered by the cautious politeness of an American
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statesman.
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400
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TelegraphPlayer-8536236
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[Link to this video][1]
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[![Andrew Gimson][2]][3]
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By [Andrew Gimson][4] 6:27PM BST 25 May 2011
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[Comments][5]
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Perhaps Mr Obama was smothered also by his audience, which remained stubbornly
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unresponsive. For most of the time the President had nothing to bounce off: no
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applause and certainly no shouts of praise or blame as might be heard in an
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American church or at an American political rally.
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The presidential text sounded as if it had been worked on so hard and
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conscientiously by a vast team of helpers that it had lost all savour, and
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been reduced to a series of orotund banalities, of the sort which can be heard
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at every tedious Anglo-American conference: "Profound challenges stretch out
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before us…the time for our leadership is now…Our alliance will remain
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indispensable."
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It did not help to hear Mr Obama assert, after only a minute or two, that
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"fortunately it's been smooth sailing" between Britain and the United States
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"ever since" 1812, when we burned down the White House. Everyone present will
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have been able to think of occasions when this was not so. Suez did not seem
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like plain sailing.
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Applause did break out when Mr Obama observed that "it's possible for the sons
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and daughters of former colonies" to sit as Members of Parliament, and for
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"the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand
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before you as the President of the United States".
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Here was a personal connection rather than a platitude. We warm to Mr Obama,
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and feel an affinity with him, in part because he is a grandson of the British
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Empire. As well as being an American, he is one of us. And like many
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Americans, he has a generous appreciation of the tradition of liberty on this
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side of the Atlantic: hence his references to Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights,
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Adam Smith and Winston Churchill.
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Mr Obama's warmth returned immediately after he had spoken, as he moved slowly
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out of the great hall, shaking hands with Nick Clegg, John Major, Tony Blair,
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Gordon Brown, Glenda Jackson, Nicholas Soames and many others. Here once more
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was a man with the gift of raising people's spirits.
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At his lunchtime press conference with David Cameron, held before a backdrop
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of bright flags and breezy foliage, Mr Obama also managed to be curiously
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dull. Perhaps he knew his true audience was the American people, who do not
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expect their President to behave on the world stage like a stand-up comedian.
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We had to watch Mr Obama at the barbecue in the Downing Street garden to see
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him paying his hosts the compliment of enjoying himself. This was an occasion
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which made brilliant pictures: Mr Obama and his host, David Cameron, serving
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burgers to the veterans who have suffered grievous injuries fighting our wars.
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The person with whom Mr Obama seemed perhaps most perfectly at ease was the
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Queen, who like him is a Head of State. His address at the State Banquet on
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Tuesday night had a lightness of touch which he was careful to conceal in
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Westminster Hall. His audience of parliamentarians was given a tantalising
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hint that he could tell "a very funny joke" about the Queen, the Pope and
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Nelson Mandela: his three predecessors who had the privilege of speaking in
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that hall.
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But that joke remained untold, at least by Mr Obama. The star of this show was
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not the President, but the stupendous roof of Westminster Hall. No American
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tourist will ever have returned home with a finer collection of photographs.
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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[Tweet][10]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8536541/Barack-Obamas-
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speech-failed-to-live-up-to-his-own-high-standards.html
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Telegraph
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## [Barack Obama][11]
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* ### [News »][12]
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* ### [World News »][13]
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* ### [USA »][14]
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* ### [Politics »][15]
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* ### [UK News »][16]
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In news
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: day two in
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pictures][17] ][18]
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### [Obamas visit Britain: day two][18]
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: security and
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protests][19] ][20]
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### [Obama: security and protests][20]
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[![Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barack Obama during a State Banquet in
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Buckingham Palace,][21] ][22]
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### [Obamas visit Britain: day one][22]
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[![][23] ][24]
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### [Obama honours 'special relationship' in toast to the Queen][24]
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[![Barack Obama UK visit: trip well received in US media: US President Barack
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Obama high-fives with British Prime Minister David Cameron as they play table
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tennis ][25] ][26]
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### [Obama and Cameron team up for ping pong doubles][26]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][9]
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* [Tweet][10]
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* Advertisement
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![][27]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][29]
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[1]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8536236/Barack-
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Obama-closes-speech-with-Winston-Churchill-quote.html
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[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01907/Andrew-
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Gimson_60_1907136j.jpg
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[3]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/andrew-gimson/
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[4]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/andrew-gimson/ (Andrew Gimson)
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[5]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8536541/Barack-
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Obamas-speech-failed-to-live-up-to-his-own-high-standards.html#disqus_thread
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[6]: #
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[7]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-article-
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What-are-these.html
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[8]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
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this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
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%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8536541/Barack-
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best content online, visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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[10]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
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[11]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/
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[12]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
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[13]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/
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[14]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/
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[15]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/
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[16]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/
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[17]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01905/obamas-
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620_1905119g.jpg
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[18]: /news/picturegalleries/uknews/8535498/US-President-Barack-Obamas-
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state-visit-to-Britain-day-two-in-pictures.html
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[19]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01905/obama-
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620_1905049g.jpg
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[20]: /news/picturegalleries/uknews/8535970/US-President-Barack-Obamas-
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state-visit-to-Britain-security-and-protests.html
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[21]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01904/obama-banquet-
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2_1904441g.jpg
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[22]: /news/picturegalleries/uknews/8533109/US-President-Barack-Obamas-
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state-visit-to-Britain-day-one-in-pictures.html
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[23]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01904/palace1_1904369g.jpg
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[24]: /news/worldnews/barackobama/8534601/Barack-Obama-honours-special-
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relationship-in-toast-to-the-Queen.html
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[25]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01904/tennis_1904422g.jpg
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[26]: /news/worldnews/barackobama/8534923/Barack-Obama-and-David-Cameron-
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team-up-for-ping-pong-doubles.html
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[27]: http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/imp.gif?client=ca-
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telegraph_uk_420x200&event=noscript
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[28]: http://disqus.com/?ref_noscript=telegraphuk
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[29]: http://disqus.com
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