Labor basks in Clinton glow

Like a perpetually teasing lover, the Obama Administration thrice dangled the prospect of a top-level visit in front of Australia's Labor Government, only to cancel at the last minute.

With Hillary Clinton's 48-hour trip to Melbourne, the teasing has ended and Labor has finally received the public affirmation it sought from Australia's closest and most important ally. The United States Secretary of State, who was joined by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, was originally scheduled to visit last January. The devastating Haiti earthquake changed her travel plans. Obama himself was supposed to come in March, but his healthcare bill got in the way. In June, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico forced him to call off the trip yet again.

Back then, of course, Australia had a different Prime Minister, and some pundits believe Kevin Rudd might still be in the job had Obama come in June, boosting Rudd's kudos and, probably, his poll ratings.

Three weeks after the President's no-show, Julia Gillard staged her coup, and it was Gillard who stole the limelight during Clinton's visit, accompanying the Secretary of State on a photogenic stroll along the banks of the Yarra River.

There were some crumbs of consolation for Rudd, though, who as Foreign Minister got to greet Clinton when her plane touched down in Melbourne on Saturday for the 25th annual Australia United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks.

And it was Rudd who farewelled "Hillary and Bob" at a post-AUSMIN press conference yesterday, after hailing the 60-year alliance between the two countries as "a relationship between friends who share common values, who stand by each other through thick and thin".

Clinton's friendly manner and striking outfits - a tangerine trouser suit made Gillard look positively dowdy in navy - seemed to endear her to Australians. So did her view of the country, which she said she had always perceived as "kind of like the Wild West, but with better beer".

The shared values, however, apparently do not extend to cuisine. "I've never understood why you would ruin a perfectly good slice of bread with Vegemite," the former first lady told a forum of young people in Melbourne.

Earlier in the day, Gillard had shown Clinton around her home town, with the pair sauntering along the Yarra and pausing for lunch at Federation Square.

They could have been two girlfriends out for the day - had it not been for the police helicopters buzzing overhead, the police speedboats shadowing them on the water, the mounted police stationed on the riverbank and the men in black suits surrounding them.

Yesterday it was once again Rudd's turn to play host, as he and Defence Minister Stephen Smith got down to the nitty-gritty with Clinton and Gates at Government House.

As the Americans departed, Rudd and Gillard were left basking in the glow of the visit by Obama's two hard-hitters - even if Labor's long-sought love-in ended up as a rather brief encounter.