Britain's Brown looks past Bush presidency

By Matt Spetalnick and Sumeet Desai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush was upstaged on Thursday as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met U.S. presidential candidates before seeing him, a stark reminder that world leaders are now looking to his successor.

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain came off the campaign trail to talk with Brown, who expressed confidence any of the three would maintain a "special relationship" between the United States and Britain.

Only then did he go to the White House and sit down with Bush, who shares the British prime minister's plight -- low popularity and economic problems at home.

With Bush in the final year of his presidency, the two leaders steered clear of differences over the unpopular war in Iraq and focused instead on common ground, including efforts to keep pressure on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Joking and smiling, they tried to dispel perceptions of a chilly personal relationship, in contrast to the chumminess Bush displayed with Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair.

"If it wasn't a personal relationship, I wouldn't be inviting the man to a nice hamburger or something," Bush said at a joint news conference, referring to the private dinner the leaders and their wives will share on Thursday.

Tackling an issue that has hurt both leaders' public approval ratings, Brown said he and Bush agreed to do "everything in our power to ensure economic stability and growth" before a Group of Eight summit in Japan in July.

The global economy has been plagued by a credit crunch, record oil prices and market turmoil.