I cut and paste from the BBC website: Mr Baker said Mr Broughton was inferring that the UK was a 'US poodle', but that this was not the case. "It does sound as though he was kind of venting, rather than engaged in a careful analysis. I've sort of learned that when Brits play the 'poodle card', it's more emotional than rational and it sounded like he was playing the poodle card." David Ritchie, Portland, Oregon