From Brown to ?

From Becky: Even loosely associating with President Bush seems to cause grief overseas nowadays. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown just gave a speech to the rest of his Labour Party today, one many British political pundits say could make or break his career. The number of Brits who have an unfavorable opinion of him is the highest its ever been, and they seem ready for yet another change. After ousting the previous Prime Minister Tony Blair (a fellow Labour Party member), Brown seems to be scrambling to overhaul his look and feel by replacing some of his cabinet members, revamping his communication style, and pushing his usually camera-shy wife into the spotlight for a time. The Chicago Tribune and Le Monde seem to feel he did his job, but if his unfavorables continue to slide, could the United States lose yet another ally in the self-proclaimed War on Terror? Yes, his numbers are based mostly on the U.K.'s poor economic growth, but his positions on Iraq and Afghanistan haven't been as hard-nosed as his supporters had hoped. With his job seemingly on the bubble, the current administration can only hope that he lasts for at least the next forty days, and the U.S. presidential candidates need to start making friends across the pond now if either of them wants to continue any type of support in Afghanistan, let alone Iraq.