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and she's always got something to say. So Bindi Irwin it is - and again, the same number of syllables in their names.

Now for Obama - a difficult one. For some reason my first thought was Australia's Andrew Peacock, for his charm. But nothing else fitted. Malcolm Fraser for his arrogance? Maybe, but the politics are all wrong, and Obama looks nothing like an Easter Island statue. Neville Wran perhaps? Probably a bit far to the left for Obama. Bob Hawke was supposed to be charismatic, though I couldn't see it. Same as I don't see Obama's charisma. Both arrogant. Both intelligent and academically successful. Bob Hawke it is.

Last, but not least, we have George W. I couldn't find any Australian politician to equal him. I thought of Jeff Kennett (seen here coming out of his "Rubbery Figures" mold - politician and made no mark nationally.

Unlike Bush who (almost) single-handedly solved the United State's illegal immigration problem.

Maybe Sir Joh Bjelke Peterson who was for many years Premier of perhaps Australia's most Texas-like state.

Australian columnist Phillip Adams, compared Sir Joh with Peter Sellers' character, the moronic Chance, in the movie, Being There: "Both (Joh and Ronald Reagan) have visions as limited as their vocabularies, yet both these grotesque garden gnomes are seen as colossi by their deluded followers. The louder we laughed at them, the more powerful they became. The more improbable their careers, the more certain their ascendancy."

I read the Adams quote, and read it again. And again. Stuck on these words - "The louder we laughed at them, the more powerful they became.

Now why does the image of Sarah Palin pop into my mind?

Hockey Mom, Joe Six Pack, Hockey Mom, Joe Six Pack.

Let the play begin!

you don't know the name of the French President.
if you DO know the name of the French President, you cannot pronounce it.
you go to the bathroom when you aren't having a bath or shower or brushing your teeth.
you don't get surprised when the flight attendant announces, "we will be landing momentarily".
you don't get surprised when the landing-momentarily-plane takes another 90 minutes circling while waiting to land.
you say, "You're welcome" instead of "ta", "no worries" or "prego".
you think $600 per month is cheap for health insurance.
You know you've been in New York too long when
You organize to go to social engagements when you intend to cancel.
You only wear white between Memorial Day and Labor Day
You give your hair stylist a $20 tip and think nothing of it.
You say "hair stylist" instead of "hairdresser".
You don't even notice that people use the F-word as much as Australians use 'bloody'.
You NEVER say "ta", "prego" or "you're welcome".
You know you've been in America far far too long when