Flying their pro-American colors

Nicolas Sarkozy, the nouveau French President, has demonstrated that he is pro-American by vacationing at Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and by being photographed boating, bare-chested, on the lake. But what about Gordon Brown the new prime minister of the United Kingdom? He used to take his vacations every year without fail on Cape Cod. He even honeymooned at the Wequassett Inn in Chatham, Mass.

This summer he's staying at home.

Nevertheless, according to two British journalists, Prime Minister Brown is so pro-American that it doesn't matter where he vacations. He could even follow in the footsteps of Tony Blair and relax in Tuscany, Barbados or some other sybaritic spot, without harming his reputation as an Atlanticist.

The serious reasons that Mr. Brown likes us, according to Daniel Finkelstein of The Times of London, are that he reads up on American politics, admires neoconservative thinkers, has an inner circle of American political strategists and, like Bill Clinton, is not ashamed to steal ideas, like welfare reform, from conservatives.

Don Surber of Britain's more down-market but still arch-conservative Daily Mail, says that he'll believe that Gordon Brown is more pro-American than Tony Blair when he does at least two or three of the following: Calls English football soccer; frequently says "hopefully"; drinks cold beer; supports the Chicago Cubs and whoever is playing the Yankees; TiVos Jerry Springer; doesn't object to tea bags; tells Queen Elizabeth II to "Loosen up, Betty baby"; drives a Mustang; vacations at Myrtle Beach; and tells Parliament to "Git 'R Done."