D-Day 65th Anniversary (2): a reminder for Sarkozy and a challenge for Obama

Prompted by the news that the Queen hadn't been invited to today’s 65^th anniversary commemoration of D-Day, I recently posted a clip from Ronald Reagan’s moving speech at Pointe du Hoc on the 40^th anniversary in 1984. 

Here is an audio version of the whole speech that serves as the soundtrack to a neatly edited collection of pictures and film footage from D Day. 

I don’t know if President Sarkozy’s English is up to understanding one of Ronald Reagan's finest speeches, but it wouldn’t do him any harm just to watch the visual reminders of the Normandy landings. Had he done so a few weeks ago, he might have shown a bit more diplomacy when it came to making the arrangements for today. 

Meanwhile, the challenge for President Obama is how do you follow the great communicator when he was right at the top of his game?

(See also D-Day 65th Anniversary (1).

 

D-Day 65th Anniversary: (1) A British soldier returns to Gold Beach

"You just had to do it and you did it." - Ken Scott, Durham Light Infantry.

Click HERE for fuller story.

The end of free speech?

In the wake of James Purnell's resignation from the cabinet last night, the following worrying statement came from the higher reaches of the Labour Party:

"Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman told GMTV: 'If James Purnell wants to make his decision to leave the government, then that's a matter for him, but he's not entitled to say that the prime minister has to go too'" (my emphases).

Er, why not?