Our British cousins feel that P.M. Brown was treated rather shabbily yesterday. From this report I'd agree.
I'm no fan of Brown but he is Prime Minister of our strongest ally and, when visiting the White House, should be accorded some respect. And lunch for pete's sake.
More evidence Obama is far too callow for the job.
Or just plain ignorant.
from The Telegraph h/t Freedom's Fight
President Barack Obama just plain rude to Britain. Don't call us in future.
Posted By: Iain Martin at Mar 4, 2009 at 09:41:53
Why couldn't President Obama have put on more of a show for his British guests? He looked like he simply couldn't be bothered.
Number 10 may be content that they just about got away with the visit to the Oval Office yesterday, as Andrew Porter reports from Washington.
But on this side of the Atlantic the whole business looked pretty demeaning. The morning papers and TV last night featured plenty of comment focused on the White House's very odd and, frankly, exceptionally rude treatment of a British PM. Squeezing in a meeting, denying him a full press conference with flags etc. The British press corps, left outside for an hour in the cold, can take it and their privations are of limited concern to the public.
But Obama's merely warmish words (one of our closest allies, said with little sincerity or passion) left a bitter taste with this Atlanticist. Especially after his team had made Number 10 beg for a mini press conference and then not even offered the PM lunch.
We get the point, sunshine: we're just one of many allies and you want fancy new friends. Well, the next time you need something doing, something which impinges on your national security, then try calling the French, or the Japanese, or best of all the Germans. The French will be able to offer you first rate support from their catering corps but beyond that you'll be on your own.
When it comes to men, munitions and commitment you'll soon find out why it pays to at least treat the Brits with some manners.
4 comments:
Ace of Spades ran a similar thread last night . . .here is a compilation from some of the comments:
Each Republican member of the House and Senate should send the Browns a hand-written apology. Good thing we're back in the good graces of the International Community (tm) heh. On the other hand, the Brits overwhelming wanted Obama, so I'm gloating.
March 5, 2009
First Lady Michelle Obama shows even she has a gift for the gaffe
Like all good guests, Sarah Brown arrived bearing gifts for the children, Malia and Sasha. And they were really nice presents. A bit of thought had clearly gone into choosing them: Top Shop dresses (with matching necklaces) and a selection of books by British authors. Lovely.
Mrs Brown may have two boys but she certainly knows the way to a little girl’s heart. These were gifts chosen in the true spirit of present-giving: to please the recipient, not the giver.
In return Mrs Obama gave the Brown children, Fraser and John, two toy models of Marine One, the Presidential helicopter. Fair enough on the helicopter part, always a popular choice with small boys; but Marine One? It’s not as though anyone needs reminding that Barack Obama is President or that he has his own helicopter. Short of giving the boys Action Man models of her own husband smiting the evil forces of neoconservatism, Mrs Obama’s gesture could not have been more solipsistic or more inherently dismissive of Mrs Brown.
Perception is reality in most cases, and in this one, the perception is one of thoughtless, last minute scrambling, coupled with egoism unparalleled in our history. Those shitty helicopters are honestly from the gift shop. And this is the woman the liberal press refers to as Jackie Kennedy reincarnate?
A Marine One Playset? $15
Two Marine One playsets? $30
$10.35 on Amazon at the moment (with free shipping)
The funniest part? Notice the gift sets also include a jeep or some sort of Presidential SUV,
Michele must have kept that. Probably for Obama to play with. Fuck you, England. We won!
Humiliating your closest ally? Priceless.
Michelle Obama you're like school in the summertime. . .No class.
But, don't be hatin on them Obamas too much - in typical American fashion they passed on cheap chinese crap (you'd think though that the White House Gift Shop would have the decency of American Made (tm) If they had any class at all, in the very least, BHO would have personally inscribed the plastic thoughtless toys. . .taking bets that he didn't.
While reading up on this (and the dresses were from the apparently very hot Topshop), I also found this in one of the articles:
"Earlier, Gordon Brown and Mr Obama held talks in the Oval Office. But there was not the usual evening dinner engagement for the two couples to enjoy." . . .in essense - no joint presser and no private dinner for one of our nations most reliable allies.
Recall that one of Obama's first actions upon arrival at DC was to return a bust of Churchill.
Well, at least we know how this helps Michelle's children who are probably thinking: The damn Iranians got a laptop with all the blueprints and schematics of the real Marine One, and all we got were these cheap plastic toys. Hope these boys realize they've been handed the ENTIRE US defense committment for Europe - Don't break them!
ALSO CONSIDER Just recently, there was serious consideration of replacing the Marine One helicopter fleet. There were two leading contenders for the contract. Rather than awarding the contract to one of two domestic helicopter manufacturers (Sikorsky and Boeing) who provide a variety of helicopters already to our military services, the contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin, an airplane manufacturer who doesn't make any helicopters!
This is not to say that Lockheed Martin's British-Italian partners don't produce excellent products. They do. They just don't have the same years of experience in producing military aircraft as our two American companies: Boeing and Sikorsky.Obama made a big joke out of not needing a new helicopter. So the Brits won't get a shot at that business. And the toys are a way to rub that in.
See the nuance involved? This isn't a moment of thoughtlessness. It's a shot across the bows in a trade war.
P.S.
There will be a lot more of this. He's from the group that despises "Eurocentric" culture (20 yrs with Rev. Wright). He is not going to be gracious to Merkel, Sarkozy, or Berlusconi, either.
On the other hand, watch when an African or Arab head of state arrives...he'll pull out all the stops and have a State Dinner.
By the way, Winston Churchill was instrumental in putting down the Mau Mau in Kenya, and Obama's grandfather was apparently imprisoned for a while at that time. At least that's what Obama said in his book.
I am waiting to see if they go to Italy and visit the Pope. Betcha Michelle will show up with BARE ARMS at the Vatican, which are not allowed. But her arms are so toned! How did they get so toned?
Like Jim Treacher said..
From strangling democracy. Heh.
***Again, these were all from the comments at ACEofSpades. (Can't provide specific link because it appears to be down. . .thread title had soemthing to do with Klingons and beware of gift or some such)
Funny, I was under the impression that the order for the presidential helicopters had been awarded to Westland - Augusta for the EH101. My son-in-law is a stress engineer working for the company and I could be sure that work had already started. I maybe wrong, however.
BTW Westland have been making military helicopters as long as all the other manufacturers and the Lynx was the first helicopter to fly inverted - also the fastest at the time.
AMATEUR HOUR?
No, thoughtless, w/rgd to our allies.
This is just the start
A fiasco in the making
The gift exchange and Prime Minister reception was a little sloppily done by President Obama's Public Affairs professionals, but I am embarrassed it has garnished this much media attention when there are more pressing issues at hand. I found a video site that incorporates global perspectives about this issue. It's interesting to see what others think about Obama snubbery.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/no_party_for_uk/
Post a Comment