Barack-ing for the other team

First published on The Drum: 15/11/2011

If you thought coverage of the Queen’s hats and curtsey-gate was bad, just wait until Air Force One touches down in Australia this week.

There will be excruciating live crosses counting down the minutes until president Obama lands on Australian soil; describing in detail each element of the motorcade snaking through the roundabouts of Canberra.

It’s hard – make that impossible – to imagine an Asian head of state receiving such fanfare.

But it turns out media overkill is no guide to the way Australians understand our place in the world.

We might admire the Queen’s class and staying power, we might love the thrill of a POTUS visit; but we hold our cultural allegiances at arms length from our views on our future prosperity.

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