During a report about "why we love the British" on Thursday's NBC Today, special correspondent Tom Brokaw declared: "In one of our election years, the British watch America with a sense of bewilderment." Left-wing BBC anchor Katty Kay sniffed: "When we talk about God, guns, and government, those are the three big things we don't understand." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
She then lamented: "The role of government here [in the United States] is much more complicated, people don't want it in America. In Britain, we expect government to provide things for us."
Brokaw prefaced this portion of the segment by wondering: "We know what we like British. So what do the British like American?" Kay suggested that her fellow Britons tolerate America because of their love of American consumer goods: "For all of our grumbling about how America might behave around the world, we're still wearing Levis, we're still drinking coke, we're using iPads."
A sound bite was also included from Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who fretted over gridlock in American politics: "Well, it's a little bit harder now, and I'm speaking as a student of history, to work at how you actually make a decision in Washington."
Here is a portion of the August 9 segment:
8:35AM ET
(...)
TOM BROKAW: We know what we like British. So what do the British like American? Katty Kay is a BBC correspondent based in Washington.
BROKAW: In one of our election years, the British watch America with a sense of bewilderment.
LIONEL BARBER [FINANCIAL TIMES EDITOR]: Well, it's a little bit harder now, and I'm speaking as a student of history, to work at how you actually make a decision in Washington.
KAY: When we talk about God, guns, and government, those are the three big things we don't understand. The role of government here is much more complicated, people don't want it in America. In Britain, we expect government to provide things for us.
(...)
