IF David Cameron’s main aim in going to the US was to impress Barack Obama, he succeeded. If he wanted to impress Americans, he has some way to go.
His performance in the White House was applauded by officials for its style and substance, but the US media reaction to his handling of the al-Megrahi issue has ranged from broadsheet suspicion to tabloid fury — and the public impact of his trip must rank as underwhelming.
Pictures of the two leaders in conversation in the Oval Office featured on several front pages, but only one devoted its main headline to the visit: “British Bull”, the Daily News in New York screamed.
“Stop ducking, Mr Cameron, we demand answers about Lockerbie bombing scandal.”
The paper’s British-born editor, Martin Dunn, said he wanted to convey to Mr Cameron New Yorkers’ anger over his reluctance to hold an inquiry. “This has done my knighthood chances no good whatsoever, but we thought if David Cameron comes he should at least see a manifestation of our outrage on the news stands,” Dunn said.
The White House was more generous. “We thought the visit went exceedingly well,” an official said. “There is good chemistry between the leaders and they are eager to work together to achieve results.”
The emphasis on results was a deliberate echo of Cameron’s plea for a pragmatic British-American relationship unburdened by fretting over diplomatic nuances. Yet the nuances helped to win him admirers in the East Room — the venue for his press conference — as well as the West Wing.
Sally McNamara, of the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Cameron “came across as statesmanlike” even though his agenda had been “hijacked” by the Megrahi affair — a reality brought home to him by one of the four senators who met him on Wednesday to press for a full investigation. “It looks like a miscarriage of justice,” Kirsten Gillibrand insisted. “It looks like this terrorist has gone free on what may be fraudulent information.”
Commentators welcomed Cameron’s professed admiration for the US, with caveats. His love of the US was “music to my ears”, Michael Goodwin of the New York Post said. But with BP as “public enemy No 1 . . . it’s dangerous to be too close, so Cameron is likely to get caught in the crossfire”.
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