Posted on 03/07/2009 12:30:19 AM PST by Plutarch
You'd think President Obama had booted the Brits out of America — again!
London newspapers are howling over a string of alleged snubs by Obama to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his visit to Washington last week — including a squabble over presidential gift-giving.
"President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain," sniffed The Daily Telegraph Friday. "His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling."
The list of complaints is longer than the Magna Carta: Obama canceled a planned, podium-to-podium news conference with Brown (actually, none was ever scheduled); he recently removed a bust of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office; and he gave gifts to the Brown family that were "about as exciting as a pair of socks," one Fleet Street wag whined.
That last bit might be true. After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office's desk), Obama offered up ... 25 DVDs of American movie classics.
"Oh, give me strength," wrote one appalled Daily Telegraph staffer. "We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic."
Never mind that Brown is blind in one eye and may have a hard time seeing the stars in "2001: A Space Odyssey," or that American DVDs are usually incompatible with British players.
Equally insulting, decided the Times of London, was Michelle Obama's "solipsistic" and "inherently dismissive" gifts to the Browns' two little boys, Fraser and John.
The offending souvenirs? Toy models of Marine One, the President's helicopter — gifts no doubt plucked from the White House gift shop at the last minute, The Times decided....
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Especially when that head of state is from one of our country’s oldest and most reliable allies, and also shares many historical ties.
Presumably no expense will be spared and the First Family will roll out the red carpet for the first visit of African dignitaries.
(oh, I'm sorry. What that my outside voice speaking?)...
Just keepin it classy!
When Stevie Wonder was at the crib the other night, BHObama could have gotten an autographed CD for the PM.......
As I understand it, they fired all the experienced staff and hired people they could trust, politically, who were also affirmative action candidates. After all, anyone can do these nice jobs with nice salaries, so it doesn’t matter as long as they are loyalists.
There is no one left in the WH who understands protocol. If anyone bothered to find out the correct manner of doing these sorts of things, they were obviously told that was then, this is now, we won and we will do things our way.
Is anyone in the MSM reporting the weekly Wednesday parties being held at the WH for zerO’s friends and cronies? Did they stop after the wagu beef disclosure?
Hillary also mispronounced the names of EU dignitaries. Certainly, that made us a lot of friends among those allies who were reportedly impatient to be rid of Bush.
I fully expect to hear how racist all the world is, over the next four years. Since the zerO campaign made a big deal of how much he was loved in Europe and how relieved the Russians were to get rid of that old warmonger, W, this is going to be a hard sell. However, the Progressive donks will buy it with barely a qualm, let alone a question.
I am appalled at the stupidity of the President and co-President.
At the same time, I am appalled that another uncommon word is added to the journalists’ dictionary, evidently to be used as often as possible.
“Solipsistic” simply isn’t a part of most folks’ vocabularies.
Few people can pronounce it without sounding like they are lisping.
And guys and gals, somewhat like the wild changes in the meaning of the word “meme” (which originally connoted the spreading of information by word of mouth from person to person), I’m sure “solipsistic” will also mean whatever the user means it to mean.
Not really. The connexion is tenous, and you would have to be thin-skinned and overly sensitive to take offense.
It was used against Arab slavers in the Mediterranean in the 1880s.
Actually two steps away (see my post above)
Given the way I feel about cats, I might just have to support him on that one.
Brown is really gonna be pissed when he finds out the DVDs are due back at Blockbuster on Monday!
‘...I swear, these Obama sycophants would defend Obama if we found a video of him drowning kittens.’
The saddest part of all is that in this culture of death, the image of him drowning kittens would resonate as horrific with many more of the US electorate than if he were drowning babies.
I weep and pray for our nation, culture and children.
Maybe solipsistic or solipsism will become this years gravitas.
Can you imagine what the MSM would have said if Bush had made such a gaff? Certainly there are experienced staff in the White House who have handled such issues of protocol in the past ...apparently the children now in charge of things did not ask their advice.
Maybe you are right. I wasn't offended; I just rolled my eyes and shook my head. Yes, I'm sure it's not that particular HMS/USS President. Besides, both heads of state are probably history illiterate. At least it wasn't made from the USS Chesapeake.
Then again, what if we had given the British something with reference to Java, Guerriere, Macedonian, or Cyane?
Reserve duty often involves a lot of sitting around doing nothing except drinking coffee, with the occasional break to eliminate the excess. Still, some who lack a sense of humor, might take offense at your characterization.
Obama might figure out that he has a Department of State to help him out with issues like this. I would guess that there is a long list of American citizens with artifacts of some interesting cultural or historical value, but little real financial value, that would be more than happy to part with them for such occasions in return for a note of gratitude from the president. It is a pretty well established practice going back oh 200 years or so, but 0 and his crowd I guess threw a wrench into the finely tuned gears of statecraft.
Kinda makes you wonder whether there will ever be any joint Rose Garden press conferences.
Liberal snubs liberal. Go figure.
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