Cementing a Friendship

Serenading a visiting British Prime Minister with Yankee Doodle is something less than tactful. Yet it was precisely that old Revolutionary War song which fell on Harold Wilson's ears as his limousine purred away from the White House last week. Later the same day the Marine Band, its timing obviously off, crashed into Rule, Britannia just as Vice President Spiro Agnew arrived at a White House dinner. During the evening, Marine songsters strolled through the banquet area dressed in Revolutionary War costumes, again evoking an era of some unpleasantness between Americans and Britons. At least the Marines did not salute Wilson, as one entertainer did during the Prime Minister's 1968 White House visit, with I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'.

Plenty of nothing, however, was what emerged from Wilson's three-day U.S. visit. There were, of course, the ritual man-to-man talks between Wilson and President Nixon. For 2 1/2 hours, they reviewed East-West relations, Viet Nam, Nigeria and Britain's hopes of entering the Common Market. Wilson's idea of an Anglo-American "special relationship" involving joint consultations on environmental problems was discussed as well. According to one British source, however, White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler "was overly anxious to see that only the headings were given," and little substantive information came out of the meetings.

The flowery mutual toasting at a white-tie dinner in the State Dining Room was a matter of pleasant ritual. Wilson made a point of hailing the British and U.S. ambassadors for their skill and effectiveness. U.S. Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, who attended the feast, said afterward: "I hope that [the compliment] may some day be really believable." Right now, it is not (see box opposite page).

Though so little of importance happened that a final communique was not even considered necessary, the Wilson visit was symbolically worthwhile as a reminder of old friendships and common causes. In a marginal way, it was also a campaign exercise for the British leader, who may call an election this fall. Just before a wind-up press conference, he slipped on a marble floor at the British embassy, bruising his ribs and cutting his lip severely. Back in London, he reported that he was still "damn sore."

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