The first full-dress meeting between new British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama at the White House showed a strong effort by both to maintain the relationship of close cooperation between the two countries.

It is a fact that the United States and the United Kingdom work together closely on a range of issues. The previous two presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, had strong personal relationships as well with the two prime ministers representing the Labor Party, which had been in power until May. Mr. Obama sought to maintain that relationship, even though reportedly he had some difficulty connecting with the previous prime minister, Gordon Brown.

Mr. Obama's one-on-one meeting Tuesday with the new prime minister was important. It could have been difficult because Mr. Cameron's Conservative Party is not as close ideologically to Mr. Obama's Democratic Party as was the Labor Party led by Tony Blair and then Mr. Brown.

Probably the most important difference between the two at the moment is their approaches to a key question posed by the global recession: Should nations concentrate on cutting deficits and debt, or should they pour more money into economies that are still sputtering, even while running up the debt? Mr. Cameron is distinguishing himself as one who wields the budgetary meat cleaver vigorously, seeing cuts as the United Kingdom's highest priority. Mr. Obama is still favoring economic stimuli, most recently in the form of extending unemployment benefits at a cost of $34 billion.

Issues where the two leaders found common ground at least in public included Afghanistan; continued pressure on Iran to brake its nuclear program; the need for a successful Middle East peace process that includes two states, Israel and Palestine; and the mistake by Scottish authorities in freeing the convicted Lockerbie bomber. Both trod carefully on the subject of BP and the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Most encouraging on the personal relationship was the fact that, in the press conference that followed their meeting, both seemed to slip easily into the "David" and "Barack" mode of address. Both countries will benefit if the two leaders continue to work together personally on important policy issues.

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