The Brits, The Illegals And The King

BaT is back in full force after a week of travel. (In summary: Boston was nice, but cold (duh) and windy. My eyes are still recovering. D.C. is always great to me. I love taking off from Reagan National heading South. Get a window seat on the right side of the plane and leave D.C.'s airspace with a stunning view of the Capitol and the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson monuments. I get chills every time.)

To make up for the weak blogging last week (and no Cocktail of the Week! boooo), here's a three-fer today. Or as a vaudevillian comic might begin: "A Brit, a Mexican and a redneck walk into a bar ..."

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The Anglo-American Relationship

Tony Blair tells the Australian parliament the dangers of the world's anti-Americanism in what is probably the best grasp of the American mindset by any world leader today:

"This alliance does not end with, but it does begin with America. For us in Europe and for you, this alliance is central. And I want to speak plainly here. I do not always agree with the US.

"Sometimes they can be difficult friends to have. But the strain of, frankly, anti-American feeling in parts of European politics is madness when set against the long-term interests of the world we believe in.

"The danger with America today is not that they are too much involved. The danger is that they decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage. We need them involved. We want them engaged."

While I would not agree with many of Blair's social policies if I were a subject of the Queen, I continue to admire his approach in dealing with the United States. He is honest and thoughtful and has rejected playing to anti-Americanism to shore up any domestic weaknesses. (And that rarely works, does it? The voters of Germany and Canada, however delighted by tweaking of the Americans, still turned out Schroder's Social Democrats and Paul Martin's Liberals, respectively. It really is cheap politics, more worthy of The Beard than respectable Western leaders.)

Two other great British leaders had what Blair seems to have. The first is Winston Churchill (whose mother was American). Some would have you believe that Churchill always licked the American boot. But you can find numerous times when, in fact, he became very vocal about his disagreements with U.S. policy. He didn't, however, allow this anger to blind him to the simple fact: In this world, the British have one dependable ally beyond the Commonwealth and that is America. In turn, America finds its only dependable allies in the Commonwealth.

Upon his retirement in 1955, Winston Churchill gave this advice to his Cabinet: "Never be separated from the Americans." Good advice then. Good advice today. Americans should take it to heart as well, and "never be separated from the Brits."

The second British leader to grasp the importance of Anglo-American relations is Margaret Thatcher. It was Lady Thatcher who worked closely with Ronald Reagan to counter the Soviets and eventually force the USSR into bankruptcy.

I remember her role in the Soviet collapse fondly, but I remember her more for what she told the first President Bush before the Persian Gulf War in 1990. Bush 41 had a bad case of what we in the business world call "analysis paralysis." He had difficulty coming to a final decision, and when he did, it was often a watered-down version of what actually needed to be done.

As he wrestled with and then doubted about what to do with Saddam Hussein and his invasion of Kuwait, Lady Thatcher stiffened his spine with this pointed remark: "Don't go wobbly on me, George."

So here's to the Brits (and the Aussies, too). We may not always agree on the particulars, you like to lecture a little too much to Little Brother and we are sometimes a little slow to act, but you've got our backs and we've got yours.

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Immigration And America

I am generally symphathetic to people coming to our country looking for a better life. I have met many, whether they are from south of the border (particularly Mexico), India, the Middle East or Asia. They are good people, and they want for their family the same things we want for ours: for the next generation to be better off than we are today.

Much to my friends' chagrin, I supported special status for Cubans entering American waters -- legally or not. I agreed that it should be expanded to Haitians, as well. They were not coming here strictly for economic reasons. Instead, they were escaping dictatorship and civil war.

I have also long supported legal immigration of Mexicans and even amnesty at times. But when I see demonstrations like those in Los Angeles over the weekend and the comments from some of the protestors, I'm starting to rethink my openness. Undoubtedly, they are upset at the legislation currently being considered in Washington, but those bills are aimed at people who are in this country illegally. Regardless of what you do once you are here, you are still here ILLEGALLY. And as my friend points out (he came to the States from Mexico legally): "Many of us took the steps to live and work in this country legally. We waited until our paperwork was cleared. We pay taxes. We contribute to society. But now we are placed in the same group as those who crossed illegally. Why did we even bother?"

It's a good question -- and signs like this certainly aren't helping my feelings on this. Forget that you see more Mexican flags than American ones, check out the big banner in the upper right-hand corner. It says: "THIS IS STOLEN LAND." Careful what you wish for if you want to politicize this issue. I think you'll lose.

On the other hand, as Mickey Kaus points out, maybe this issue will keep the gays from being the political punching bag this year. (And a hat tip to Mickey for the photo referenced above.)

Bottom line: America is the great melting pot, even when sometimes the ingredients don't get along one-on-one. But when you start acting entitled to special treatment -- or at least project that feeling -- there's a backlash.

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Viva, Las Landmark

Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley for 20 years, is now a National Historic Landmark. The King's palace joins the White House and the homes of Presidents Washington and Jefferson, as well as about 2,500 other places on the landmark registry.

"It would be difficult to tell the story of the 20th century without discussing the many contributions made by this legendary, iconic artist," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said during a ceremony at Presley's famous Memphis mansion.

"It didn't take Americans and the rest of the world long to discover Elvis Presley," Norton said, "and it is absolutely clear that they will never forget him."

It seems only right that Graceland be awarded the honor. Sun Studio, where Elvis and many others recorded, became a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Somewhere in Wisconsin, an old fat guy eating a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich is smiling.