The best gift to a visitor from another country is something that is unique to our region and that is unique in itself. Could give something historical, but really our history is (1) short compared to England's and (2) the best stuff unfortunately is from when we were at war with THEM.
I was thinking myself along the lines of folk crafts - Shaker box or Appalachian dulcimer, but handmade quilts exactly fit the bill. Traditional American art form, hand made, one of a kind. And you can carry it home on the plane!
What I can't understand is, even if Obama and his wife have absolutely NO class, why their chief of protocol didn't know better. (They DO have a chief of protocol, don't they?)
The only conclusion I can come to is that it was a deliberate insult.
Exactly what I was thinking.