The normally measured and non-editorialising media here found themselves on a royal tour-style footing, reduced to intoning, over extended nightly coverage, things like, "What flavour of oice cream d'ye tink he'll choose here in Dundalk?"
Resistance would have been churlish. Were any superpower leader to visit New Zealand professing such a crush, a similar welcome would have been rustled up. It's priceless global publicity - and doubtless we, too, would have thought we absolutely deserved it.
But while Biden's ecstatic love-bombing charmed the bejesus out of his hosts, it caused comical umbrage across the sea, where English commentators launched an indignant tug-of-war over Biden's English-versus-Irish DNA.
Barack Obama might have thought his "birther" opponents aggressive in alleging he was secretly born in Africa and ineligible for office. That had nothing on the fury of a certain stamp of Brit whose culture Biden had by omission relegated as less romantic, beguiling and courageous than that of the upstart Irish.
Denne historien er fra April 29- May 05, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra April 29- May 05, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
