Obama Vis a Vis Europe: Getting to Know You

drawing by marguerita
But, to borrow from Mr Obama, the relationship can work only if both sides understand this change.
There is a second race for the White House. European leaders are falling over themselves in the quest to be first to pay homage to America’s president-elect. The unabashed obsequiousness is more than faintly pathetic. It speaks to a failure of understanding. Barack Obama won the presidency by promising change; Europe looks stranded in the past.It is hard to exaggerate the mix of excitement and anxiety Mr Obama’s victory has generated in the chancelleries of Europe: excitement because of the opportunity to repair the transatlantic ruptures of recent years; anxiety because no one knows who, and, critically, at what price, this rock star of global politics may choose as a favourite ally.FT.com / Columnists / Philip Stephens - A futile European contest for Obama's ear

Note: From The King and I

GETTING TO KNOW YOU (Oscar Hammerstein)

Anna:
It's a very ancient saying,
But a true and honest thought,
That if you become a teacher,
By your pupils you'll be taught.
As a teacher I've been learning
(You'll forgive me if I boast)
And I've now become an expert,
On the subject I like most.
[Spoken]
Getting to know you.
[Children Giggle]
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you, putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.
[Children Giggle]

All [Except children]:
Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you, putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,