WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Obama is thanked, sort of

WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Obama is thanked, sort of

YOKOHAMA — When you're in the Far East talking to a colleague from Down Under, if you're not careful, it can be a case of thanks, but no thanks.

President Barack Obama found that out on Saturday, as he met with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

After a picture-taking session with the two, as photographers and reporters were being ushered out, an Australian journalist turned to Obama and said, "Thank you, Mr. President."

It didn't take long for Obama to understand who'd piped up. "I knew it must have been an Australian because my folks never say thank you."

Which, being Americans, the U.S. contingent took as a challenge. In unison — and with perhaps a dash of sarcasm — they, too, pronounced, "Thank you, Mr. President."

When both groups finally exited, Gillard could be heard saying, "There are a few cheeky Australians here."

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Thank you, Mr. President, threatened to become a theme of the day.

As reporters and photographers were ushered from the summit's opening meeting with Obama and other leaders, a White House reporter and photographer leaned in to thank the U.S. president.

"We're trying to be more polite," the reporter said, drawing on the earlier exchange from the Obama-Gillard meeting.

Then, from a distance, came another photographer's shout: "Thank You, Mr. President."

To which Obama replied: "Now, don't overdo it."

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The bamboo was real, but the Koi were not.

The setting at the opening meeting was a formal Japanese garden elaborately constructed in a Yokohama hotel and convention center, complete with gravel, stone paths, a bamboo border and plush leather chairs for each of the leaders.

The Koi pond, however, was high-definition video screens placed on the floor. They showed water splashing and fish scattering in fake terror.

"Stephen, don't fall in," Obama joked to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "It's all video. It's fascinating."

Obama also was seen admiring Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's iPad. "I bought one for my wife," Obama said.

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How close is close?

During his meeting with Gillard, Obama told reporters, "The United States does not have a closer or better ally than Australia."

That might come as news to, say, Britain; Obama often praises that "special relationship." Or even to Japan; Obama has called their alliance a "cornerstone" of Asian security.

Of course there's no disputing America and Australia are buddies. As Obama noted, they're big trade partners and their troops have fought side by side in Afghanistan.

But Gillard may have had the more accurate rendering, calling the countries "great mates."

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For a summit that's all adjective and no noun (formally, it's the "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" meeting, or APEC for short), the most colorful part of an often dry weekend of trade talk is always the class photo. By tradition, leaders have donned colorful local garb to pose with each other.

But not this year.

The Japanese hosts ruled that the dress code for the photo is "smart casual." No reason was given, but the no-nonsense Japanese may have thought a no-frills pic makes more sense for a post-financial-crisis meeting.

The net result? The leaders wore mostly dark-colored business suits or blazers with an APEC pin and an open-necked shirt, except for Gillard. She wore dark slacks and a dark jacket with large, white polka dots.

The so-called "silly shirt" tradition was started by Bill Clinton, who gave his guests bomber jackets at the first APEC summit on Blake Island off Washington state. That was in 1993, and in the years since, leaders have posed in everything from Indonesian batik shirts to embroidered Chinese silk jackets.

If Japan's decision sticks, no one will be more disappointed than Obama. He's hosting next year's summit in Hawaii and had bragged about having leaders show up "decked out in flowered shirts and grass skirts."

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The port city of Yokohama was the last stop on a grueling Asia trip — four nations, 10 days — that, literally, was destined to take Obama around the world.

Briefing tired-looking reporters at its conclusion, Obama's new national security adviser, Tom Donilon, thanked them for working long hours. Then the mischief began.

"We're going to add three or four more stops," he said. As grim laughter rippled through the ranks, Donilon said it was only his second week on the job and he couldn't help himself.