Obama addresses British Parliament, following meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron

U.S. President Barack Obama called for solidarity between the United States and Britain in his speech before the British Parliament today, saying that the rise of countries like Brazil, China and India does not necessarily mean the decline of America and Europe. 

The speech was the focal point of a two-day love fest in London, where Obama and his wife, Michelle, have stayed at Buckingham Palace and were honored at a state dinner hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. He gave the speech in historic Westminster Hall, a venue that, as GlobalPost's Michael Goldfarb reports,set high expectations. Obama opened his speech by noting that his predecessors at the Westminster podium include the pope, the queen and Nelson Mandela — "which is either a very high bar, or the beginning of a very funny joke."

Earlier today, Obama met with British Prime Minister David Cameron. At a press conference, the two assured reporters of their committment to toppling Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and providing economic aid to nascent Arab democracies. Cameron failed, however, to get a public endorsement from Obama of his government's deficit reduction measures, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The low point of Obama's London visit might have come at the beginning of the state dinner, when the orchestra began playing the U.K. national athem, "God Save the Queen," before the president had finished his toast. He spoke over the anthem and when he finished and raised his glass, no one joined him.

Tonight, the Obamas will honor the Queen at a dinner at the residence of the American ambassador to London, where he can make another stab at a toast.

The Obamas will continue to Deauville, France tomorrow for a meeting of the G8, where jockeying over a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the International Monetary Fund is expected to dominate discussions. Friday, the Obamas will visit Poland, wrapping up their European tour that began in Ireland.