Key to get White House invite?

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, November 1st, 2010 - 45 comments
Categories: brand key, International, us politics - Tags: , ,

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way to New Zealand this week, bringing the customary promises of good will and better relations between our two countries.

The big question however is, will Clinton be bringing the overdue White House invite for our Prime Minister to visit President Obama? Even Helen Clark was invited by George W Bush twice to the White House – and they weren’t exactly Best Friends Forever.

John Key on the other hand has claimed him and Obama are the best of pals… All Key needs to do is call President Obama and he’ll just pick up the phone. And why wouldn’t they be so close? Like Key said himself, he’s a bit like Obama.

Well. Now’s the test.

If Key doesn’t get a White House invite it’ll be nothing short of a huge embarrassment. Will the veneer once again wear off to reveal the hollow man beneath?

45 comments on “Key to get White House invite? ”

  1. Pascal's bookie 1

    I suspect he will. The WH will be looking to change focus and look towards international issues if the dems lose control of congress. If they want to move forward on any of: climate change, nuclear issues, China relations – we’ll quite probably get an invite.

    Question for me is, and I already know the answer, “Will our government be bringing up human rights issues with the Secreatary of State, in the same way that we would with China or other countries with whom our relationship is important in spite of their record of torture?”

    A journo with steel might ask someone something along those lines.

  2. IrishBill 2

    I’d be surprised if he didn’t get an invite. It’s pretty standard for visits by senior US cabinet members to include an invitation for the PM to meet with the president.

  3. The Baron 3

    What a lame little piece of conjecture. Who gives a f*ck? Will it really be a major embarrassment for key if he doesn’t (clue – you sitting in your lounge, pointing at the tv going “ooooer” isn’t a major embarrassment for a prime minister, michael).
    I know you live and miss Helen, but let it go FFS.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      Looks like The Baron doesn’t think that Key has a chance in reality, Mr Foxglove.

      Although in truth, the US remaining a tad chilly towards our PM would not be a surprise, Gillard was.

  4. Like Key said himself, he’s a bit like Obama.

    This gives me a chance to trot out again a wonderful quip by Cullen about Key. Cullen’s quote is sourced from a letter to the Herald editor.

    “They are scientifically similar in that they are both male bipedal mammals with an identical number of arms, legs and internal organs.” The difference, of course, is that Mr Obama stands for change you can believe in.

    • burt 4.1

      This gives me a chance to trot out again a wonderful quip by Cullen about Key.

      Rich prick !

      • felix 4.1.1

        burt,

        You’ve always maintained that those words were directed not at Key but at everyone who earns 65k or more.

        Can’t have it both ways burtie boy.

  5. freedom 5

    people can believe any persuasive double-speak drivel they like, but any ‘warming of the relationship’ with the U.S will result in more kiwi soldiers dying in illegal wars, adoption of more Police State policies, and increased pressure to allow the War machine to sail into our harbours.

    There is no benefit from a trade deal with the U.S. as most of their industry has been taken off shore, except propoganda factories, weapons manufacture, ponzi schemes and GM foodstuffs.

    The country is bankrupt and even as you read this is allowing a private [the Federal Reserve] bank to print trillions of dollars to stave off the inevitable collapse. The interest alone on the ‘quantatative easing’ will never be paid, let alone the principle.

    America is not a Nation to get closer to. It is a Nation to remain very wary of.

    • Carol 5.1

      And the US is worried about the increase in international interests and investments being developed by China. So it no doubt wants to keep NZ and Aussie as part of its fiefdom.

  6. randal 6

    do ya think he can make it through the mental detector?

  7. Key has never claimed they are best pals.

    Here’s hoping he does get invited

    • freedom 7.1

      I for one would love an informative answer why you hope our PM is invited to the White House?

      capcha: justification

      • George 7.1.1

        Key has never claimed they are best pals.
        But he has claimed he can pick up the phone at any time and talk to Barry.

  8. Fisiani 8

    If he does not get an invite then he is condemned by the Standard writers.
    If he does get an invite he is …..condemned by the Standard writers.

    Yet his popularity is over 50% and Phil is forever stuck at 7%. Chris Carter was the only honest Labour MP.

    • Pascal's bookie 8.1

      Do you think he should ask about torture and why there haven’t been any investigations as required by various treaties to which both our nations are signatories?

      I do.

    • felix 8.2

      “If he does not get an invite then he is condemned by the Standard writers.”

      Key said that he can phone the white house and anytime he likes and his mate Obama will come running to the phone to talk to Wee Johnny Keys from Noo Zullun (or some such bullshit along those lines). If he doesn’t get an invite he’ll be rightly condemned for lying to us. You have a problem with that?

      “If he does get an invite he is …..condemned by the Standard writers.”

      Condemned for getting an invite? How so? If his past adventures overseas are anything to go by he’ll probably be ridiculed for making a dickhead of himself, but who has ever condemned him for getting invited somewhere?

  9. FREEDOM:

    The same question was asked when The anti Bob Parker people here were screaming, why is Sideshow Bob going to asia?????

    600 jobs and 75 million dollars later we had our answer.

    • freedom 9.1

      do you call that an informative answer? it isnt even a decent sound bite.

      what jobs are going to be created by Key going to the States? seriously!
      what income is going to be generated that does not result in further land sales
      or losses of workers’ rights?

      outside of weapons, populist entertanment, poisoned seeds and dodgy pharmacueticals, what benefit to New Zealand do you forsee?

  10. freedom:

    If a deal gets it done, then it will be worth it, most people will think having a meeting with the leader of the free world is a good thing.

    • Vicky32 10.1

      Leader of the Free World! Oh, the stupid – it burns! (That particular crazy slogan belongs to the Reagan Days, right?)
      Who elected the Poisonous American of the Day Leader of the Free World? I know I missed that particular election…
      Deb

    • freedom 10.2

      you have no idea of what is happening in America do you Sean?
      -their unemployment rate is close to 20%
      -are you aware they have more people in prison than China,
      -are you even conscious of the fact that their money is printed by a private bank
      -their military budget is now 60% of their total expenditure
      -they have no gold reserves left
      -they have moved over 70,000 factories off shore in the last twenty years
      -they have been regularly putting troops in domestic urban environments to do police actions for over two years, not just at ground zero. One of the most recent was a traffic inspection site in California, using scanner technology based on the gene-damaging radiation spewing airport bodyscanners that give the equivalent of twenty chest xrays per scan and allow naked pictures of you and your children to be stored for reasons of National Security as high school dropouts in TSA uniforms get to decide whether you are allowed to fly
      -They are passing legislation, written by Monsanto to make small scale farms and co-op food production illegal unless they use GM seeds

      and for a shining example of their true nature,
      – not a single child of anyone in the Senate or Congress has seen active duty in the US military in the Middle East. Yet the Pentagon is redacting soldiers for three , four, five or more tours then that same Pentagon does all it can to deny them VA medical coverage when they return sans legs, nerves and livelihoods.

      it goes on and on, just go and investigate your big buddy Sam,
      then ask yourself if this is a country you want us to roll over for?

      • Colonial Viper 10.2.1

        Nice list Freedom (not many people know that the ‘Federal Reserve’ is a privately held bank misnamed to make people think it belongs to the US Federal Govt) except for the point on children of congressmen serving in Iraq. Its happened, several times. I point it out mainly because the US leadership still has spine to it. Now and then.

        http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-22-iraq-congress_x.htm

        At least nine members of Congress have sons or daughters who have served in Iraq, according to the U.S. Senate Library. A tenth, Sen. John McCain, faces the possibility that his youngest son, Jimmy, will go there this year.

        • freedom 10.2.1.1

          thankyou for the info,
          damn i hate it when something slips under the radar,

          i will look into it and will strive for greater accuracy in future posts

  11. freedom
    600 people in Christchurch will have jobs, not soundbites, but jobs.

    $75 million dollars for our city, and the left were against Mayor Parkers trip.

    • The Voice of Reason 11.1

      You mentioned this on Open Mike, Sean. Care to identify where the jobs are? There don’t seem to be any ads in the Press yet and the description of the airline concerned suggests it’ll be a flash in the pan. Can I humbly suggest that the 600 jobs is bullshit? Other o’seas carriers flying in and out of Chch do not employ anywhere near that number for their NZ operations.

    • Colonial Viper 11.2

      Meh crediting one man who participated in some photo ops for scoring $75M is overly simplistic.

      I mean, what about all the Christchurch business leaders and many other people involved – including local MPs?

      You’re not being overly simplistic are you?

    • The Baron 11.3

      OK, if you wanna talk to Freedom can you reply to his comments please? The way you are doing it is ultra annoying.

      • Sean Brooks 11.3.1

        Done and done.

        • Colonial Viper 11.3.1.1

          After this time and still no links to Parker creating jobs out of thin air = BS claim on your behalf.

          • freedom 11.3.1.1.1

            yeah yeah yeah viper, i too was really hoping a link would appear from fantasyland

            oh well, back to the predictable…if it looks like a troll and smells like a troll
            then i say light a fire and watch him burn till crispy :]

            i know i am not alone in this, merely stating the obvious, but i really dislike trolls. They are such a waste of resources and you have to spend so much time putting extra effort in so others don’t mistakenly think that trolls’ comments might be based in reality

            btw you think the trolls here are bad, try the big bad world of 9/11 truth, trolls are a whole other species in that quagmire,
            brainless regurgitative amoebic blobs of evil are easier to talk to and have better manners

            [lprent: We just try to trim off the troll skim to just leave the cream of trolls (everyone should be exposed to trolls for immunization purposes). If someone can argue their point even a bit, responds to challenges, isn’t immediately offensive to smell, and doesn’t try to flood the debate with off-topics – then we’ll leave them alone. ]

          • Sean Brooks 11.3.1.1.2

            The CHCH press had it on their front page about Parker’s trip to Asia and the deal with a airline that will create 600 jobs and bring in 75 million, its been all over the local media here.

  12. nic 12

    I think he will probably get an invite. And if Key doesn’t, I don’t see how it will turn into a huge problem for him politically in NZ, as “Michael Foxglove” seems to believe.

    More to the point, the author of this post seems to believe that if JK doesn’t get an invite, it will be due to some shortfall as Prime Mininster (compared with Helen Clark). I’m interested in what exactly this is? The author seems content to beg the question, which makes it a rather weak post (IMO).

    Finally, is the author sure he really wants the PM of NZ snuggling closer to the US? Just a thought.

    • wobble 12.1

      Touch sensitive Nic? You’re not associated with Captain Panic Pants from the PM’s office are you?

  13. Colonial Viper 13

    Dear Mods, Sean Brooks website link in his name still appears to be some random spam site completely unrelated to him.

    • r0b 13.1

      All I see is “http://one/” which (of course) doesn’t lead anywhere?

      • Colonial Viper 13.1.1

        My browser (Firefox) must take a punt on a website and I get redirected here.

        http://www.one.com/en/

        • r0b 13.1.1.1

          Interesting, my Firefox doesn’t do that. Try right click copy link and paste the text into an editor / word processor – it should be http://one/.

          People occasionally have a bit of random junk in that name / link field, Brooks is not at all unusual.

          • lprent 13.1.1.1.1

            It depends on your ISP’s DNS in what it does when it can’t resolve an address. Some of them return what I’d have to presume are paid addresses for helping to contaminate your machine. Helps with their page views – and tells me that I should dump that ISP.

    • Sean Brooks 13.2

      Yes that is nothing to do with me for some reason when ever I do a post \”http://one comes up in the website form.

      I will try deleting it.

      [lprent: obviously worked. It remembers them using cookies on your machine for this site. Once you change them, then the cookie changes. ]

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