John Howard Stays at Blair House, Left Outraged

The former prime minister of Australia, John Howard, is in Washington, D.C. to accept yet another honor bestowed upon him by President Bush. Interesting tidbit - it is Howard and his guests that are taking up residence at Blair House and therefore the Obama family is across the street, roughing it in a luxurious suite in the Hay-Adams. They asked for the Blair House accommodations as of the first of January so that the Obama family could be based there as the girls began their new school, before the standard date of January 15, when Blair House is traditionally available to the incoming First Family. And, as predicted, the Bushes were mocked by the left as rude and mean to the Obamas. Let's see how eager he is to book the incoming administration's family as he leaves office.

Either way, this non-issue would only be a temporary move for the Obama family. They will uproot to move into the White House on the inauguration day, so it is just semantics. And, another healthy dose of ego from the Obama camp to make the request in the first place.

John Howard is to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor, along with Tony Blair and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Howard and Blair have been steadfast allies on the global war on terrorism and Uribe has made great strides in his country against drug lords and the drug trade.

A fitting recognition for all three leaders.

In 2005, John Howard received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, presented in Sydney. President Bush gave a speech praising Howard via video link. Howard is the first Australian to receive the award.

In 2008, Howard was given the Irving Kristol Award by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Also, in late 2008, Howard received the
Winston S. Churchill Medal of Freedom in Los Angeles.

To read of the nastiness from the left, though certainly not unusual these past eight years,it all seems petty and myopic. Recognizing foreign leaders with national awards would seem to be a gracious way of strengthening friendships between nations. Isn't that such a concern of the doom and gloom crowd and their insistence that the U.S. is so hated around the globe?

I hope the Howard family enjoys their stay.