Overhyping the Summit

I'm not sure whether it was superstition about April Fool's Day or the reputed worm that led me not to blog yesterday, but there it is. I did, however, clean up my home office to the point that I can actually see the surface of my work table, and I organized some reading material for my book. So it was hardly a lost evening.

I understand that this is Barack Obama's first overseas trip, so to some extent all the hype and overcoverage, whether about giving the queen an iPod or Michelle's many dresses, is understandable. But truth to tell, aside from the business of other presidents getting a chance to interact with the new POTUS personally, and maybe a bit here and there behind the scenes, little was likely to emerge from the vaunted G-20 meeting, as this Register editorial on the previous day suggested. To be sure, there was a wan agreement from all the high-tax bullies on trying to discourage countries from being tax havens, a terrible idea. As for more substantive agreement, thank goodness it wasn't really there, -- no new international regulatory body -- aside from some inflationary spending. Yes, we came a little closer to a new one-world order, but not as close as they might have liked. The continentals resisted the pressure to spend more than a token on a "stimulus" package. All in all, nowhere near as disastrous a group photo-op as it might have been, despite the brave words. The upshot will be less (note the date on the link) than they're bragging about, which is good for the world.