Tie your kangaroo down John!

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has put himself square in the middle of a controversy not only in Australia, but in the United States as well.

The Aussie’s call him the Deputy Sheriff, for his frequent and loudly declared support for US President George Bush, taking the Bush White House line to the outback of Australia.

On the weekend, Sheriff John decided to help out his buddy George by attacking the incubating presidential bid of Barrack Obama. Howard took offence to the Obama thoughts on the war in Iraq and suggested that putting Obama into the White House could possibly be the worst thing that America could ever do.

The quote that has made him the darling of the Sunday talk shows and turned up the heat in his own country revolved around his suggestion that Osama Bin Ladin and his crew is furtively praying for an Obama presidency.

"If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."

Needless to say, them’s fighting words and the Obama camp came out swinging on Sunday suggesting that the Australian PM was a little out of his scope of interest in his pronouncements on American political matters. They also kindly opined that considering the size of the Australian contribution to events in Iraq, compared to the American presence, that the Australian PM really had no place to impose his thoughts on the American process.

Howard thus far is unrepentant, recounting his thoughts today in The Age newspaper and finding himself in much demand to explain his dedication to inserting himself into American politics.

Australia’s opposition Labour party was quick to pick up on the vibe and make it a major issue in the nation’s Parliament, Labour has been making inroads on the governing Prime Minister and Howard may find that his outburst may not resonate as well as he originally thought.

While some Republicans claim that he has a right to express his opinion due to the Australian presence in Iraq, most Republicans joined the Democrats in saying that his intervention into American domestic issues is not particularly welcomed.

His comments have started a media frenzy in Australia with bloggers and journalists weighing in with wild and witty abandon. The Sydney Morning Herald's radar blog calls on the Deputy to turn in his badge, feeling that his Cheney like rhetoric is getting old and isn't particularly welcome.

Normally it’s France that likes to stick its nose into matters best left alone, now it seems that Australia is destined to join the Axis of the busy bodies…