I think the story behind the story is that “payback is a biatch”. That is, the Obama’s have made it a point to repeatedly insult our allies, at a personal level.
Things like giving “official gifts”, that look to have been purchased at remainder stores, that on their own right are wildly inappropriate. In fact, there are probably fewer instances when they did something that wasn’t insulting, or just lower class. One example:
“The Prime Minister (Gordon Brown), gave Mr Obama an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet. The unique present delighted Mr Obama because oak from the Gannet’s sister ship, HMS Resolute, was carved to make a desk that has sat in the Oval Office in the White House since 1880.
“Mr Brown also handed over a framed commission for HMS Resolute and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert. In addition, Mr Brown and his wife showered gifts on the Obama children giving Sasha and Malia an outfit each from Topshop and six children’s books by British authors which are shortly to be published in America.
“In return, the Obamas gave the Browns two models of the presidential helicopter, Marine One, and a box set of 25 DVD movies.”
Golly, how tasteful. Maybe next time the Obama’s will give a Cracker Barrel cheese and sausage box, and a couple tickets to Wrestlemania. Oh, yes, and an NTSC DVD player, since the British use the PAL standard, and the DVDs would be unwatchable on a British DVD player.
Wonder what he did with that...he sent the Churchill bust back to them.