Well, are the Obamas deliberately snubbing the Brits? Or are they clueless about our true friends across the pond??
Probably a bit of self-absorption on the part of the Obama’s: “what, we have to give gifts? We GET gifts, we don’t GIVE them. Oh all right, here’s your plastic souvenir.” Mayhaps some protocol chief from Chicago noticed Mrs. Brown arriving with wrapped packages and went into panic mode.
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.