Yankee Go Home - London UK

[qwertyMike]

London mayor Ken Livingstone is planning a
'Peace Reception' for prominent opponents of the war next Wednesday,
midway through George Bush's stay in Britain.

DAILY MIRROR
On edit:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/

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[qwertyMike]

1. Why the UK is important to Bush - Photo ops

Jonathan Freedland
Wednesday November 12, 2003
The Guardian

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One Republican source, close to the White House, has a theory as to why the Queen is such an important catch for the image makers. "Look, Americans don't know shit. They're not going to recognise the prime minister of the Philippines. The only foreign leaders they could pick out are the Queen of England and the Pope - and we've already got those pictures." With the Pontiff in the can, the Queen is the co-star the president needs.

Getting the first ever state visit for a US president was a big request, but Team Bush had just the man to make it. William Farish, the US ambassador to London, has been the invisible man of the diplomatic circuit since he arrived here. But he has one asset: he is a genuinely close friend of the Windsors. A racing fanatic, he even trains and keeps the Queen's horses at his Kentucky estate.

According to this version, it is Washington, not London, which is driving next week's visit. Even the timing is designed to suit them: late November is the run-up to Thanksgiving, with Congress due to be in recess and a convenient drought of rival news. They could not wait till next year, when the election campaign will be at full throttle, and when foreign jaunts risk Bush Snr Syndrome - spending too much time abroad when Americans want their president to fix things at home. Next week is the time that best suits the Republican re-election effort, so that is the week he is coming. My Republican source detects the hand of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political counsellor: "Rove is driving the timing and image-making of all this."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1083116,00.html