Is Obama's election the end of the "special relationship"?

[McDave]

With fundamental changes in US demographics, the abject failure of the monocultural McCain-Palin campaign, and the election of Obama by diverse constituencies, is the special WASP relationship between the UK and the US now effectively dead?

How will this play out for relations between the US and the EU, and both their positions in the wider world? Is it also basically the end of euroscepticism based on narrow nationalism?

My own view is that Western values can only be protected and advanced if both the US and the EU are strong in their own rights. The neocon policy of dividing and conquering Europe has weakened both. The US now needs to regenerate internally, and the EU needs to integrate more.

I think UK euroscepticism aimed at splitting the EU and aligning remnants with the US is a dead duck. The EU and the US will forge ahead. The UK will finally get the message. Which way are we going to fall?

[odie1kanobe]

Nope as the realtionship is more than being about who is in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or 10 Downing street.

The tenant of those establishments will have an impact but the relationship is too close to be altered.

[Kiss]

aia thought this wa sabout the end of our special relationship.

[michael1965]

The "special relationship" always seemed like a one-way street to me. I could never see what the Brits were getting out of it. You'd have to go back as far as Thatcher & Reagan to see any kind of equality in the relationship, in my opinion.

[cHeal]

Absolutely not. America has been bought and paid for by Corporations and big business and America's national debt will make any change in the relationship between Political America and Corporate America impossible.

[odie1kanobe]

The "special relationship" always seemed like a one-way street to me. I could never see what the Brits were getting out of it. You'd have to go back as far as Thatcher & Reagan to see any kind of equality in the relationship, in my opinion.

The Brits get a lot out of it be it access to new technology, ability for UK firms to sell armaments, training of their military, sharing of intelligence and quite a lot of political stuff.

[Thac0man]

I would not get to carried away, those who do are in for serious disappointment. The approach might change, but the overall policy won't. Why do people expect Obama to do things that are not in Americans interest?

Of the foreign policy objectives that 'The One' has been kind enough to share with us, abandonment of unilateralism is top of the heap. How anyone could construe that as signaling the end of the special relstionship is beyond me. If anything it will require a greater reliance on it.

I expect Obama to abandon the US policing role that Republicans like so well. That will leave many countries beyond the US sphere of influence to sort out their own problems - a la Clinton.

[Thac0man]

Absolutely not. America has been bought and paid for by Corporations and big business and America's national debt will make any change in the relationship between Political America and Corporate America impossible.

I agree, lets not forget the banks that got the US in trouble contributed very heavily to Obamas campaign. But that does not really affect the transatlantic political relstionship. McDave seems to be under the impression that an affection between WASPs has a baring on strategic alliances. That is simply not true. Neither Race nor religon take precidance over parlimentry democracy - that is the shared value.

I expect Frances ending of its own isolationist stance to bring it more to the fore in European affairs, but this will not affect the UKs relationship with the US.

[White Horse]

Obama is so New Labour. It should strengthen the "special relationship".

[Thac0man]

Obama is so New Labour. It should stegthen the "special relationship".

Lol, true. Tony part II.