Two Nations Separated By A Common Language

British PM Gordon Brown is in hot water over hiring US speech-writers to polish his speech to Congress in March. Is $7,000 for some mediocre references to Ronald Reagan money well-spent? (Does Brown think Americans are so easily wowed?) What is the market rate for 19 standing ovations by the legislature of the world's pre-eminent superpower? My guess is that this is fairly standard practice for foreign leaders making public speeches in the US... but can one imagine a US President hiring foreign speech-writers (other than David Frum) without a bonanza of right-wing outrage?