A few items to add. The bust was not returned by President Bush, but left for Mr. Obama, perhaps rather than appear to slight him. I wish the transition had handled it better on both ends. <a href="http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4623148/Barack-Obama-sends-bust-of-Winston-Churchill-on-its-way-back-to-Britain.html">(UK Telegraph has the latest.) </a> I find this disappointing that the new president will not have WSC’s watchful gaze.
Where have we seen that Mr. Obama is “well-versed in history”? As far as I have seen and read, he has expressed no interest in the subject. So few people do these days! (Mr. Bush, of course, had a degree in the history and felt kinship with the PM for obvious reasons.) Nor have I heard anyone in Obama’s orb make the case that the greatest man of the 20th Century is “the past” – a point of view that, in any case, would buttresses his lack of interest in history – since he’s replacing Churchill’s bust with a 19th Century great, Abraham Lincoln. In any case, Britain is a great ally, and for that fact and so many others, we can thank Churchill. Can you imagine what he would have thought had we told him as a young whippersnapper in 1896 upon his first visit to the White House, that well over 100 years later his head would be an issue in that very house? Perhaps Gordon Brown can present President Obama with “My Early Life.” Surely that alone would have him asking the ambassador if he might not get that bust back, after all. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ChurchillChat?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
