Bush, Brown hit it off well

CAMP DAVID - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is regarded as a somber figure in his home country, in contrast to his predecessor, the energetic Tony Blair.

But after spending four hours alone with the new British leader during dinner Sunday and a long breakfast yesterday, President Bush declared that conventional wisdom about Brown is distorted, and he said the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain was as strong as ever, despite a change in leadership.

"He's not the dour Scotsman that you describe him, or the awkward Scotsman. He's actually the humorous Scotsman," Bush said during an outdoor news conference after his first face-to-face meetings with the British leader since he took office. "He's a problem-solver. ... He's a glass-half-full man."


By David Nitkin | Sun Reporter