As was often the case, Oscar Wilde was clever and witty but mistaken. There are worse things than being talked about but not being talked about is one of them.
For evidence of this we need do little more than consult this graphic compiled by our friends at Politico. Derived from an analysis of more than 2,000 speeches made since he became President, it shows how often various countries have been mentioned by Barack Obama. You will notice that the United Kingdom does not feature.
This is a very good thing indeed.
Of course, it has not been treated as such by some. See this, eh? So much for the so-called ‘Special Relationship’, eh? Hahahahaha. This snark is bipartisan. It’s equally the preserve of those who scoff at Britain’s global pretensions and those who think Britain should aspire to play a meaningful role in world affairs and would like the American president to recognise this more frequently than seems to be the case.
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