From an American prespective...................................


This right here from Houston in the good ole US of A (currently in the middle of Hurricane Dolly) -

Gordon Brown flies into Washington , still an unknown quantity to most
people in the U.S, despite his bizarre appearance on American Idol
recently.

In advance of the trip, profiles of the Prime Minister have been appearing
in the U.S. This column was tuned in by satellite to Eye-Witness News,
Palm Beach , for a preview of the visit:


'Good morning America , how are you? This is your favourite son, Chad
Hanging, reporting.

The President of Englandland, Norman Brown, is arriving in our nation's
capital this afternoon to meet with President Bush. But just who is this
guy?
Let's cross to our special correspondent Brit Limey.'

'Hey, Chad . As you can see, I'm standing in the world-famous Trafalgar
Circus, with the House of Fayed directly behind me'.

'So what can you tell us about Norman Brown?'

'Well, Chad , he has been President for some nine months now. He used to
be Chancellor'.

'What, you mean he's, like, German?'

'No, that's what they call their Treasury Secretary over here'.

'And is he a Conservative, like President Tony Blair?'

'No, Chad . He's Labour. President Blair wasn't a Conservative, either. He
only pretended to be'.

'So how did Brown get the job?'

'He just kept shouting at President Blair until he stood down'.

'But he won an election, right?'

'No, Chad , there wasn't an election. He did think about calling one, but
decided against it because he was frightened he might lose'.

'How can you change Presidents without having an election? I mean, it's
not like President Blair was assassinated'.

'That's just the way it works in Englandland. The leader of the party with
the most seats in the House of Lords gets to be President'.

'So Norman Brown was elected leader of the Labour Party?'

'Negative, again, Chad . He did raise money and have a leadership
campaign, but no one stood against him'.

'What, nobody? No primaries, no general election, nothing?'

'Affirmative, Chad'.

'Let me get this straight. His party hasn't elected him, the country
hasn't elected him, yet he still gets to be President. Sounds like a tin
pot Commie dictatorship to me'.

'You could say that, Chad . Norman Brown doesn't really like anyone being
given the chance to vote on anything'.

'Someone must have voted for him, some time'.

'Oh, yes. He was elected to the House of Lords by his constituents in
Scotlandland'.

'He's Scoddish, then?'

'That's a big Ten-Four, Chad'.

'So is he President of Scotlandland, too?'

'No, that's a guy called Alan Salmon'.

'Hang on, if Brown's from Scotlandland, how can he be President of
Englandland?'

'That's just the way it goes in this crazy country, Chad . Brown can make
laws for Englandland, but not for his own people in Scotlandland.
Not that it matters much because Brown has signed away most of
Englandland's lawmaking powers to unelected European bureaucrats in
Brussels , Belgiumland'.

'That would be like stripping Congress of the power to make laws in
America and handing it over to Mexico'.

'I guess so'.

'How in the Hell did the people of Englandland vote for that?'

'They didn't. Brown wouldn't let them, even though it was a solemn promise
in his party's manifesto the last time people were allowed to vote'.

'Couldn't the Supreme Court have stopped him?'

'Not really. The Supreme Court of Englandland is now in Strasbourg , where
the geese come from'.

'Isn't there any opposition?'

'There's a guy called Boris'.

'Sounds Russian'.

'I wouldn't be surprised, Chad . There are millions of Eastern Europeans
living here now, mainly in Peterburl. Englandland has seen mass
immigration over the past ten years, but no one voted for that, either'.

'What in the name of Ulysses S. Grant is going on over there, Brit? We're
talking about the country which gave us Magna Carta, saw off
The Armada, stood alone against Hitler and invented parliamentary
democracy. How does Norman Brown get away with it? He must be a popular guy'.

'Far from it, Chad . According to the latest opinion polls, he's the most
unpopular President ever. His approval ratings are even worse than George
Dubya Bush.
There's talk about him having to stand down soon. He's already promised
the job to some
guy who works for him - name of Balls'.

'Say again, Brit, you're breaking up'.

'I said Balls'.

'You're damn right there, buddy'.