Posted on 03/04/2009 10:47:24 PM PST by bruinbirdman
There’s a lot to criticize Pres. and Mrs. Obama for, but this ain’t it. As a kid, I’d much rather have gotten a model of Marine One than some high-end thing that would sit in the closet and gather dust. This is all too typical of the whinging Brit passion for complaining that they have been “mistreated” by the uncultured provincials. I’d rather the Brits repay their multibillions debt to us from two wars (like only the Finns did) ionstead of complimenting the taste in fine gifts to the White House of Mrs. Prime Minister.
Thank you for doing the research on the Marine One Playset.
I was defending MO on this one, reasoning that the helicopters must have been pretty cool. But no, they’re unimpressive tinker toys.
This whole thing is still a storm in a teacup: however the British press love to build on media characters. We can look for more stories about the ungracious Obamas in weeks to come.
That was paid off years ago, in full.
The British not only pay their debts, their diplomats are still the only members of the UN who pay their parking tickets.
So, you've learned something.
Notice Mrs. Brown's somewhat alarmed countenance...is she going to throw something?
Perhaps, Ms Zer0 can throw a few pounds of Zer0's $100 a pound Kobe beef, to feed the Browns and their boys. It is much better than "Eating Cake".
Can you only guess how Ms Zer0 would be when she is really P...ed Off. WOW!
Ms. Vine is so drammatic about the whole meeting. What’s wrong with giving a boy a helicopter? More evidence that we humans tend to engage in trifles when facing large,looming disasters.
MY guess is that it has to do something with Kenya being a former British colony and the fact that Obama is a Kenya native with deep resentments against the Brits.
Please provide evidence that the Brits paid off their World War I billions in debt to the US. As I understand it, there are billions that were never paid. They did pay off hte World War II loans but at 2 percent interest; perhaps they got a “mortgage-type bailout’ from the Obama Administration.
It must really bother Mrs. Messiah to have to be nice to white people.
The funny thing here is that over the past year the mostly liberal Brit press built Obama up in their own minds as the ultimate, suave, gracious, statesman that they felt was sorely lacking in Bush.
Now we are seeing the shock of these previously fawning journalists who have suddenly discovered that the Obamas are nothing more than two-bit Chicago hacks with no manners and no love for the Brits, as demonstrated by the repeated snubs.
I find the whining quite delicious considering everything the Brit press had previously said about the Obamas.
I think there is a significant segment of the population which is probably somewhat inured to grandiosity, what with all the ceremonial facets of England. They also live in a class stratified society and can tell the difference between “real class” and pomposity. Whereas many here in the United States tend to get a little starry-eyed at our few “nobility” like the Kennedys and now Obamas, I think a lot of the English people take a cynical look at nobility but also have an expectation of “proper behavior” from them. If you’re going to claim you are of a higher class, you had better behave as such, especially in the area of protocol in ceremonies. (Princess Diana was, I think, an aberration as far as the general English people were concerned. It seemed she could do no wrong in their eyes.)
Of course it could also be that the English are just savoring some schadenfreude also. ;o)
I have little time for either Obama or Brown but I agree with you. The Brown boys got nice presents, maybe their parents over-did the presents for the Obama girls but that’s irrelevant, to make a diplomatic incident over such a trifling matter is absurd, much better to save the outrage for some occurrence worth bothering about, there will be plenty of them over the next few years.
It looks like a fleece hoodie that MO has on. Surely, she didn’t meet guests in the Whitehouse in that garb!! Well, it appears she did.
No First Lady here, just First Trash.
I noticed that too. She looked like she had a sweatshirt jacket on.
Part of “casualizing” the White House I guess.
They are so trailer parkish.
I think the writer is putting more thought into the gift then the Obama's did. It's a model of a helicopter for a boy. Simple but fair. At least he'll have a new target for his G.I. Joes to shoot at.
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