John Howard vs. Barack Obama

I must admit to being surprised by PM John Howard's comments about US Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In case you missed it, in response to a question on a Sunday morning press show, Howard said that Al-Qaeda were "praying" for Obama or another Democrat to win in 2008, and had put a circle on March 2008, a reference to Obama's proposal to withdraw American troops from Iraq by that date. (Actually, I do think Howard is wrong about that -- the presence of American troops in Iraq makes it easier for them to recruit potential new terrorists.)

It is unusual for a senior Australian politician to take a public stance on a domestic American political issue, so the Howard vs. Obama thing has gotten a LOT of press in Australia -- all over the front pages and editorial pages for the past couple of days, along with Obama's retorts. Seems the consensus find Howard's intervention to not be wise, pointing out that the alliance with the US is the most important thing in Australia's security policy, and that maybe it isn't smart to get into trading insults with the person and party that may occupy the White House beginning in January 2009.

All very odd and amusing, and a rare instance of the Australian PM hitting the American newspapers.