Obama visit

This week’s visit to Parliament House by US President Barack Obama was a very special occasion.

Personally, I do not think Obama is doing a particularly good job as President.  But like every other member of the Australian Parliament, I nevertheless felt it was a unique privilege to be in the Parliament to witness a visit from a US President.

Clearly there is a grandeur which attaches to the job of President.  Anybody who arrives as part of a huge motorcade, surrounded by hordes of bustling aides, after having flown in on his personal 747, generates a certain buzz.

Overlaid on that is Obama’s genius as a campaigner – and the personal charisma which comes with that.  To watch him in action – giving his speech to the Parliament, interacting with Australian school children, wandering the Parliamentary chamber after his speech and chatting easily to large numbers of people – is of acute interest to anyone who, like me, has chosen the profession of politics.

I will take away several impressions from this visit.  One concerned the security precautions – which in my view were taken to a rather ridiculous extent.  For example, the Parliament House gym was shut down for the twenty four period of the President’s visit. But the unfortunate reality is that such precautions are considered necessary given the nature of the office and those who would wish to do its occupant harm.  We are fortunate in Australia that our own leaders do not face similar requirements.

Another strong impression was the schoolgirlish excitement of Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the presence of the President. For a staunch feminist, she does a good line in admiring gazes. 

The eagerness of Greens MPs to get a word with the President also stood out.  They evidently felt there was no inconsistency between urgently seeking a photo opportunity on the one hand, and their indifferent support for the US alliance on the other. 

But perhaps the strongest impression made on me was that, amidst all the cliché and ritualistic statements of friendship, there is real substance to the talk of shared values. Of course the US has many allies.  Indeed the standard formula used by the President – that the US has ‘no closer ally’ than Australia – is obviously one that can be, and is, used of other countries such as the UK, Canada, France and several others. 

Nevertheless, as Obama noted in his speech to the Australian Parliament, there are many similarities in the histories and experiences – and in turn the values - of Australia and the US. 

Australians have the good fortune to live in a prosperous Western democracy.  The President’s visit reminded us that we share that good fortune with other countries including the US; that our security is very much tied up in our relationship with the US; and that the relationship between the two countries is a longstanding and deep one that goes well beyond the current occupants of the two offices of President and Prime Minister.