No stranger danger to Bob

If you are going to use a former prime minister to highlight cultural and social differences between Australia and the U.S. pick carefully. On Friday night delegates to the annual American - Australian Leadership Dialogue in Melbourne were taken to the MCG for a match; as a bonus, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou organised for them to go out on the ground at half time for a photo. After the match a participant by the name of Bob Hawke was headed for the team bus when a car came by, its young driver calling out "Hawkie, you're a bloody legend." Came the reply "Well if I am such a bloody legend, why don't you give me a lift back to my pub?" Moments later the erstwhile PM rode off into the dark with perfect strangers. As one US participant noted, "That could never happen in America."

James Jeffrey - 'The Australian' 18/08/09