From Jim Shipman at Britain's The Telegraph:A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.
The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure.
But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."
Diplomats were at first reluctant to discuss the whereabouts of the Churchill bronze, after its ejection from the seat of American power. But the British Embassy in Washington has now confirmed that it sits in the palatial residence of ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald, just down the road from Vice President Joe Biden's official residence. It is not clear whether the ambassador plans to keep it in Washington or send it back to London.
American politicians have made quoting Churchill, whose mother was American, something of an art form, but not Mr Obama, who prefers to cite the words and works of his hero Abraham Lincoln. Indeed a bust of Mr Lincoln now sits in the Oval Office where Epstein's Churchill once ruled the roost.
Churchill has less happy connotations for Mr Obama than those American politicians who celebrate his wartime leadership. It was during Churchill's second premiership that Britain suppressed Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion. Among Kenyans allegedly tortured by the colonial regime included one Hussein Onyango Obama, the President's grandfather.
The rejection of the bust has left some British officials nervously reading the runes to see how much influence the UK can wield with the new regime in Washington.
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OR:
PRESIDENT BUSH IGNORES LINCOLN'S LEGACY WHILE IN OFFICE
During his 8 year term, President Bush manifested what to some looks to be an infatuation with European culture and history. In fact President Bush granted high esteem to a bronze bust of British PM Winston Churchill. "the bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure." With that kind of influence, some have come to speculate that President Bush's fiscal policy was in fact influenced by European trends, as evidenced by the staggering spending that defined much of his presidency.
But times have changed. The arrival of a new president marked a shift in the choice of White House decor. While President Bush garnered inspiration from a British PM, President Obama "prefers to cite the words and works of his hero Abraham Lincoln. Indeed a bust of Mr Lincoln now sits in the Oval Office". A marked return of traditional American heroes, at a time when they're most needed? You decide.
How about that?
Radu:
I don't know that I'd term Anglo/American friendship "an infatuation with European culture and history" but I understand the point (tongue-in-cheek) that you're trying to make.
I'm just not sure I would classify England as "European" because England is not European and never has been.
It is an island nation set apart from the continent.
England is our Mother Country. We share the same language and many of the same traditions and customs. Our cultures are very similar and, we've shared our blood with the Birtish on the battlefield. Both of our societies are grounded in the Common Law and the Magna Carta.
The Anglo/American relationship is very special and America has always kept a special place in its heart for Winston Churchill whose mother was American. Go back and read Roosevelt's Christmas radio address with Churchill at his side at the White House during World War II. Then look to the relationships between JFK and MacMillian, Reagan and Thatcher and Bush and Blair.
This is something special and enduring. We ignore it at our own peril.
In fact, when we discard our bond with Britain and its leaders and heroes we began to discard a piece of ourselves.
Touche.
But few people are aware of the facts you just presented. I'd wager that a sad portion of the US population could not find the UK on a map.
Personally, I love the English culture; I've been considering using London as a base for my attempts at business in Europe (after things calm down, of course).
I hear you. But that article did nothing to point out our need for cooperation, or the importance of our relations with our cousins across the pond. So I couldn't help myself; I had to turn it inside-out.
This was a very interesting dialogue to read between the two of you. Very insightful and creative. As Mr. Cirucci would say, "Avanit!" To both.
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