Bush takes shine to "humorous Scotsman"
Gordon Brown is visiting George Bush at Camp David
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Monday, 30, Jul 2007 08:16
United States president George Bush has described Gordon Brown as a "principled" prime minister with whom he has found "common ground".
Speaking at their first joint press conference at the presidential retreat of Camp David, the pair re-emphasised the "shared values" which have sustained the close diplomatic relationship Britain and the US have enjoyed for decades.
They revealed that among the topics discussed were Darfur, Afghanistan, global poverty and the Middle East peace process.
The war on terror and Iraq were emphasised especially strongly in the press conference, with Mr Bush describing "the initial chapters of… a great ideological struggle" and Mr Brown saying there should be "no safe haven" for terrorists.
The president seemed the more relaxed of the pair as he joked with journalists and used a looser conversational style, while Mr Brown restrained himself to clipped Foreign Office language as they discussed the topics of their meetings last night and at breakfast.
"We had a really casual and good discussion," Mr Bush said.
"I kind of had a sense of the kind of person I am dealing with – a principled man who really wants to get something done."
The prime minister responded: "Mr President, we have had a full and frank discussion. We've had the capacity and the ability to meet [and discuss], person to person, some of the great issues of our time."
Although clearly less comfortable than his predecessor Tony Blair in similar situations, Mr Brown received warm praise from Mr Bush who described him as a "humorous Scotsman".
"I was very interested in his family life. He's a man who's suffered unspeakable tragedy – it's strengthened his soul. I was impressed," he added.
The prime minister thanked Mr Bush for this "compassionate" response and for saying that the US' single most important bilateral relationship was with the UK.
Mr Brown had said the same of the US prior to his trip across the Atlantic.