On Packed Day, Obama Finds Time to Talk Dinosaurs

By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 1, 2009; 11:18 AM

LONDON, April 1 -- It's hard to pinpoint why President Obama sounded a bit hoarse and congested during his news conference Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

It wasn't the weather -- Britain's skies were unusually glorious and sunny. Could have been the long flight from Washington, but he wasn't exactly flying in germ-filled coach class. Maybe it was something Malia or Sasha brought home from school.

Or, maybe, the president was simply a bit weary from preparing for a staggering day where nuclear weapons stockpiles seemed to be about third on his to-do list.

After arriving here Tuesday night from Washington, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were up early for the short drive to 10 Downing Street, where they were greeted by Brown and his wife, Sarah.

There has been endless fascination with the president's limousine in the British press, focusing on some of the particularly cool aspects -- it is sealed to withstand a chemical attack! It carries bags of the president's own blood! So, after "The Beast," as the big black Cadillac with D.C. license plates is known, was flown over the Atlantic to meet the First Passenger, the BBC posted a 90-second video showing the president's driver executing a three-point turn in Downing Street's tiny front courtyard.

The video stayed on the network's Web site all morning, and was among the most viewed items.

Obama and Brown sat for a chat, then walked across to the Foreign Office for a news conference, where both men spoke in now-familiar language of the economic meltdown: "global problems . . . global solutions . . . shadow banking system . . . Great Depression . . . sense of common purpose . . . era of profound irresponsibility."

The breadth of the leaders' discussions was mind-bending, ranging from saving the global economy to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Russia and keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists hands (which Obama called the "gravest threat to humanity") to China and even England's chances in its World Cup qualifier against Ukraine tonight.

Intent on dismissing talk of cool interpersonal relations, they offered each other big verbal bear hugs. Obama called Brown "Gordon" so many times that a beaming and normally hyper-formal Brown finally took the plunge and tossed out a few genial "Baracks."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat in the first row of seats, just in front of the journalists, wearing a broad smile as her former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination spoke. She and a large contingent of U.S. officials are accompanying Obama on this, his first overseas trip as president.

Being a "Buddy of Barack" in Europe these days is pure political gold dust, and Brown was visibly tickled when Obama said that not only was he enjoying his hang-time with Gordon, but he had also gotten a kick out of Brown's young sons.

Undoubtedly missing the nightly dinners with Malia and Sasha in the White House family quarters that have become a staple of his post-campaign life, Obama said he "talked about dinosaurs" with the Brown boys between discussions with their Dad about Afghanistan and Iraq.

While the dads parried questions from journalists, their wives visited Maggie's Center, a facility for cancer patients and their families to gather for support, comfort and practical advice. Michelle Obama was dressed in a bright green pencil skirt, a cream-colored, sequined cardigan, very high heels and pearls. She was expected to change her clothes, aides said, before her meeting with the queen later Wednesday afternoon.

At Maggie's Center, she and Brown were greeted by Richard Rogers, the Pritzker Prize-winning British architect, and his partner, Ivan Habour, who designed the bright orange building.

They visited with three male cancer patients, then went upstairs to a "Look Good, Feel Better," a makeup session with two female patients. The first lady introduced herself simply as "Michelle."

"This is pretty amazing. It's an oasis. An oasis that is necessary for people who are struggling," Obama said of the center, which has served 12,000 families in the year since it opened. "It's a quiet place that makes people feel whole."

Obama and Brown ate slices of a dark chocolate and walnut cake baked by Roger's wife, Ruth Rogers, an American chef, best-selling cook-book author and restaurant owner in London.

Rogers said the two discussed the White House vegetable garden as well as cancer care in the U.S. and Britain.

Asked by staff members if she drinks tea she smiled and said, "I do. I will."

With that, she sipped yet another cup of tea in what will be a marathon of "cuppas" over the next two days.