Oh, the Suffering!

A story in the NYT yesterday amused me—and fit into my theme on attention seekers. Headline: “Britain Suffers as a Bystander to the Euro’s Crisis.” How does this suffering manifest? Simple. Britain wanted no part of the Euro. In effect, come to think of it, Britain is quite ambivalent about Europe as well. But in its having-it-both-ways approach, it is part of the European Union but not of the Eurozone. Not being “in the zone,” it has no influence. It’s standing by but nobody is looking, never mind bowing. Today another story comes, in the same space, echoing the same message. Is the NYT here using Britain as a stand-in for the United States? Also just standing on the sidelines? Well, Timothy Geithner was over there, was at least trying to be influential. But, guess what? He didn’t get to lean on the Big Kids, thus Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. He only got to talk to bankers and other ministers like himself. A puppy barely noticed by the big stomping elks? Oh, so painful, not to be at the center of attention. That’s suffering!