Obama's 'values' speech at Westminster
(Read article summary)In a historic speech before the British Parliament at Westminster Hall, Obama stressed the democratic values that bind the US and UK and that sustain their leadership role in the world.
One thing President Obama knows how to do is give a good speech. He delivered one today before the British Parliament, which was gathered in London's majestic Westminster Hall where no US president has ever spoken before.
In a nutshell, the president focused on the democratic and free-market values that bind the United States and the United Kingdom, and that sustain their leadership role in the world.
Values talk can get poo-pooed as empty rhetoric. But this was the right time and place for today's speech, coming in the middle of the president's week-long tour of Europe.
It's been a particularly rocky decade between the US and Europe generally, with war and recession challenging the world's democracy leaders. Europeans have been looking for a "reset" in transatlantic relations. At the same time, a vital corner of the world is now reaching for the rights that Americans, Britons, and other Europeans enjoy – a confirmation that it is values, and not just policies, that drive people.
