Taxi Driver Online
http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/

Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama
http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14361		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Brummie Cabbie [ Mon Jun 28, 2010 10:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama
Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama

June 28th, 2010
By Nile Gardiner

I’ve just returned to Washington from a trip to London, and was struck by just how far President Obama’s standing has fallen in Britain. The main catalyst of course has been the relentless war against BP (or British Petroleum as Obama refers to it) waged by the White House in the wake of the Gulf Oil spill, which threatens the pensions of up to 18 million British people. I predicted on this blog several weeks ago that US-UK relations would be damaged by the Obama administration’s demonisation of BP, and that is proving correct, especially in terms of public perceptions in Britain of Barack Obama.

In a series of meetings with leading opinion formers in the UK, I barely heard a good word said about the president’s handling of relations with Britain or for that matter his presidency in general. In contrast, when he first entered the White House 17 months ago, impressions of Barack Obama across the Atlantic were overwhelmingly positive.

But the disillusionment with Obama extends far beyond the political and media elites. I was particularly taken aback on this trip by the level of animosity towards Obama’s leadership expressed by some London black cab drivers, who have also turned against the US president, especially over his handling of the BP issue. In numerous trips across central London I asked cabbies their opinion of the Obama presidency and in particular his handling of BP. Without fail, the views expressed of the president were overwhelmingly negative, and there was a strong belief among many drivers that Obama is anti-British.

I mention London cab drivers, not only because they are the best taxi drivers in the world by a mile, but also due to the fact they usually take a keen interest in politics and international affairs, and are often a good barometer of British public opinion. If Obama has lost the sympathies of the average London black cab driver, I would argue he has lost the support of the British people too.

Without a doubt, Barack Obama has a mounting image problem in the United Kingdom. Why does that matter? Because Britain is by far America’s most important ally, and the two nations are together leading a major war in Afghanistan. The president’s declining popularity across the Atlantic makes it significantly harder for Washington to advance US leadership on the world stage in conjunction with its allies.

Despite the White House’s frequent efforts to undermine it, the Special Relationship remains strong in key areas, including defence and intelligence cooperation. But it must never be taken for granted, and if the current US administration is serious about maintaining it, it must rethink its approach towards Britain and British interests, and start treating the Anglo-American alliance with the respect it deserves.

Source; blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Author:  toots [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:20 am ]
Post subject: 
It may well be called British Petroleum but it is far from an exclusively British company. There's things will happen and heads will role, eventually. It will all die down in time President Obama needs to be sure he doesn't burn his bridges before he gets chance to cross them
Author:  Caledonian Cabbie [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama
Brummie Cabbie wrote:
Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama


Thought that was tongue-in-cheek until I read the article, and I suspect the author isn't too familiar with the London taxi trade.

The headline might as well read:

"Even Norman Tebbit is turning on Barack Obama", for all it tells us about how the British are reacting to his presidency.
Author:  bloodnock [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:39 am ]
Post subject: 
Whats Barack got to whine about...BP gave him his oil...but just not precisely where he wanted it. :?
Author:  the thinker [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 5:28 pm ]
Post subject: 
toots wrote:
It may well be called British Petroleum but it is far from an exclusively British company.


Thats just it, the company is called BP and not British Petroleum this name was dropped at a meeting only weeks ago
Author:  Nigel [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 5:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
He's proved to be a spineless vvanker of the highest order.
Author:  Brummie Cabbie [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama
Caledonian Cabbie wrote:
Brummie Cabbie wrote:
Even London cab drivers are turning on Barack Obama

Thought that was tongue-in-cheek until I read the article, and I suspect the author isn't too familiar with the London taxi trade.

The author is Nile Gardiner;
Nile Gardiner is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. He appears frequently on American and British television and radio, including Fox News Channel, CNN, BBC, Sky News, and NPR.

Sorry I should have posted that part of the article too.
Author:  edders23 [ Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
BP is more of an American company than a British one with a large proportion of its workforce and business based in the good old US of A I think his attitude is probably more anti foreign owned American company I bet he wasn't bothered when Esso spilt a load of oil into the solent the other week or the vast quantities of polution that several US oil companies have created in Nigeria which I believe are on a similar scale to the Gulf oil leak
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/