Free Republic

After insulting Gordon Brown during the British prime minister’s visit this week by ignoring protocol and cheaping out on the traditional gift exchange, the UK media has erupted in outrage. The Obama White House has now started to recognize the firestorm the new President created with our closest ally, and wants to assure the Brits that he meant no disrespect. Instead, Obama apparently wants to assure them that he’s simply in over his head and floundering (via Radio Equalizer): Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have...

Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president has facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told. Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest. British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a...

[MCCAIN HAS BEEN ON COVER TWICE]

Barack Obama is usually quite good at selling magazines, boosting sales for titles ranging from Men's Vogue to Us Weekly to The New Yorker. But this week's wholesome cover photo of the Obama family was a bust for People, which sold fewer copies of this week's issue than its normal newsstand average. Jossip: When Us Weekly slapped Barack and Michelle Obama on the cover, Janice Min saw her newsstand numbers spike: Some 1 million readers picked up the issue, compared to the usual 800,000 copies that it normally moves. Perhaps looking for its own brand of presidential success, People followed...