NYT: It had its moments

Thursday, 26 May 2011 12:00 AM

The New York Times comments on Barack Obama's Westminster Hall speech:

"The president did not sketch out a new vision for the British-American alliance, sticking to a familiar list of challenges including nuclear nonproliferation and the Middle East peace process.

"Though the address was not as soaring of some of his best-known speeches, it had its moments, most strikingly when Mr. Obama spoke of the 'patchwork heritage' of the United States and Britain as a common strength. That heritage, he said, made it 'possible for the sons and daughters of former colonies to sit here as members of this great Parliament, and for the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand before you as president of the United States'.

"The audience, which had been listening in respectful silence, erupted in applause, and afterward, he needed 30 minutes to make his way out of the hall, as the crowd mobbed him for handshakes and pictures."

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