When Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, addressed Congress last month, he surprisingly flattered America a great deal: “America’s faith in the future has been, is, and always will be, an inspiration to me, and to the whole world.” He referred to Washington D.C. as “a shining city upon the hill lighting up the whole of the world” and President Obama as offering “the whole world renewed hope in itself.”

“I want to thank you on behalf of the British people …” He goes on like this for 15 minutes.

I studied abroad in the U.K. last year, and I could picture my British friends rolling their eyes and shouting charming British obscenities at their leader’s toadying. It was obvious that Brown wanted something from us, and it soon became clear just what: Brown proceeded to call for the U.S. to lead a worldwide response to the economic crisis, a “global New Deal.”

One could not help but laugh at the nervous and uninspired clapping from the Republican side of the aisle.

This got me thinking about the responsibility that the U.S. has in this crisis. This thing began on one notorious street in New York, and has since spread across the globe. What responsibility do we owe to the rest of the world? Should our stimulus package be bigger? Should we concede to the toughest regulations?

This past week, “Mr.” Obama, as the British media calls him, has returned Brown’s visit. He arrived in London on Tuesday for the G-20 economic summit, which begins today.

As one would expect, a global response to the economic crisis will be a major focus of the summit. Key areas include thwarting protectionism (i.e tariffs and quotas); coordinating macro-economic actions (interest rates and stimulus packages); and regulating the worldwide financial sector.

When it comes to macroeconomy policy, Obama has taken up Brown’s appeal for leadership, calling for the coordination of large stimulus packages — global versions of our $780 billion stimulus package — across Europe. However, Europe has been hesitant to comply with his battle cry. Although not part of the G-20, Sweden of all countries rejected a stimulus package on Tuesday, and last week rejected a bailout of the automaker Saab.

When it comes to regulating the financial sector, the U.S. and the U.K. are calling for self-regulation at the national level, while France and Germany are in favor of stricter supra-national regulation. In fact, Sarkozy, the president of France, has threatened that he will storm out of the summit if there is no consensus on tougher global regulation. He wants retribution and I almost don’t blame him — after all, the crisis is the result of lax regulation of the U.S. banking sector.

But, despite Sarkozy’s arrogant French huffing, I doubt much will come of this. For one, rather than cage America, the world needs America to be America again. Although the U.S. started the economic crisis when the house of cards came crashing down, paradoxically, the rest of the world needs us to rebuild that house again.

Like it or not, American prosperity still means world prosperity. Exports to the U.S. make up the largest fraction of most countries foreign trade. At the same time, American companies set up shop in almost every country. In short, if the U.S. cuts back, the world economy cuts back. It is no coincidence that China’s once extraordinary growth forecasts have fallen along with the S&P.

Worldwide recovery will come the day that American investors start investing again and American consumers start consuming again. And, I guess, spending too much and saving too little. In many ways, we will be playing the same game that we were before the crisis.

I think other countries know this. For now, they are biding their time, doing everything they can to hold back spending, and waiting for U.S. recovery to land on the beaches of Normandy. The European bailout is the U.S. bailout. This is the real U.S. leadership that is sought.

In the end, despite European mistrust, despite protectionist policies, despite global protests (last time Obama visited Europe he was treated more like a rock star than a candidate for president — this time the crowds were mobs protesting global capitalism), you should sleep soundly knowing the end of Anglo-American global capitalism is far from in sight. At least this time around.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a similar worldwide economic meltdown that was our fault. Back in 1929, in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash, the following phrase was coined: “When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches the cold.”

The U.S. again has sneezed and the world is sniffling. Ironically, as sick and diseased as the U.S. is, we are still looked to as the leader of the pack.

So, Brown was right when he said in his speech, “America is the indispensable nation.” As such, for better or for worse, this means that we can still do what we want. Hopefully, we are better at it next time around.