Stuart Miller outside his store in Crawford, Texas, where John Howard will be staying at George W. Bush's ranch this weekend. Picture: Michael Jones
Posted on 05/02/2003 9:22:49 AM PDT by knighthawk
JOHN Howard will follow in the footsteps of his idol, Don Bradman, when he is honoured at New York's famous Yankee Stadium tomorrow.
The Prime Minister will be introduced to the crowd before the Yankees baseball game and the Australian national anthem will be played in a rare honour reflecting New York's appreciation for the country's support after September 11.
As George Bush does everything he can to ensure Mr Howard gets publicity and recognition for Australia's military support in Iraq, Mr Howard will watch the Yankees take on the Oakland As from behind home plate as a special guest of the club's president, Randy Levine, as Bradman did in 1932.
The US President gave the Prime Minister a lift on Air Force One overnight, fresh from his swashbuckling arrival on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln ferrying the first US troops home from Iraq.
While US attention focused on his address to the nation from the aircraft carrier off San Francisco, Mr Bush has planted Mr Howard into his own limelight and "talked up" Australia at every opportunity.
After naming Australia as one of the coalition who fought in Iraq, Mr Bush said those countries had won "a loyal friend".
In his home town of Crawford, Texas, Mr Bush's enthusiasm for his "great friend" has got the Australian flag flying in the main street and even has Mr Howard's slightly askew image on a latter-day Mount Rushmore – one of Crawford's celebrity coffee mugs.
Of the 705 citizens of Crawford – a dying whistlestop until George W. Bush bought the 800ha Prairie Chapel ranch before running for president – almost all appear to support the troops in Iraq and extend their gratitude to Australia. One house has a sign out front saying "War is not the answer".
Stuart Miller, operator of the Yellow Rose gift shop who raised the only Australian flag available, said Australia's contribution had been well noted long before Mr Howard's visit to the "western White House".
The purveyor of the "Friends and Allies" coffee mugs – featuring Howard and Bush with Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar – Larry Nelson said there had been a bit of trouble finding an image of Mr Howard.
Mr Howard first visited the Yankees in 1997 when Australian Graeme Lloyd was a relief pitcher. Interviewed at the game, Mr Howard said he needed help with the rules. Later that year, he expressed disappointment with Yankee Stadium, describing it as "a bit colourless" compared with Australia's sporting arenas.
Stuart Miller outside his store in Crawford, Texas, where John Howard will be staying at George W. Bush's ranch this weekend. Picture: Michael Jones
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