British Prime Minister snubbed?

[HoosierHelen]

You all know I'm a supporter of Obama, I was disappointed to read how he dropped the ball with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his recent visit.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown felt half snubbed on his visit to the U.S. a few days ago when he didn’t receive the customary press conference and dinner. According to London’s Daily Telegraph, the Obama administration says the president was too tired.

Also the customary gift exchange was a bit embarrassing on Obama's' behalf. I hope someone in his administration will brush him up on these manners. They are important.

http://michaeltotten.com/archives/20...us-needs-a.php

[HoosierHelen]

I just can't believe Obama gave DVD's as a presidential gift to the British Prime Minister - what is up with that???

Can you tell - my dander is raising?

[HoosierHelen]

and another 'OOPS' on Jay Leno last night. Please come on now ...Obama...get your PC going. Don't insult the Special Olympics or the British Prime Minister. You are smarter than this!! Manners do Matter!!

Appearing on "The Tonight Show," the president told host Jay Leno he'd been practicing at the White House's bowling alley but wasn't happy with his score of 129. The he rolled a gutter ball by quipping: "It was like the Special Olympics or something."

The audience laughed, but the White House quickly recognized the blunder.
On his way back to Washington on Air Force One, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, to say he was sorry — even before the taped program aired late Thursday night.

"He expressed his disappointed and he apologized in a way that was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Obama, Shriver said, wants to have some Special Olympic athletes visit the White House to bowl or play basketball.

http://news.aol.com/article/obama-ap...e/390803?flv=1

[tandjflo]

I just can't believe Obama gave DVD's as a presidential gift to the British Prime Minister - what is up with that???

DVDs that can't even be viewed in Britain.*chuckle*

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/20/d...enjoying-obam/

[tandjflo]

and another 'OOPS' on Jay Leno last night. Please come on now ...Obama...get your PC going.

http://news.aol.com/article/obama-ap...e/390803?flv=1

What?? The Messiah isn't perfect? Go figure.

Probably being overblown , but then again I don't have someone in my family with an affliction. Got to wonder what a parent with a disabled child would feel though.

[evilkumquat]

At least this "messiah" is enough of a grown up to admit to a mistake and apologize when needed.

[HoosierHelen]

At least this "messiah" is enough of a grown up to admit to a mistake and apologize when needed.

Yes his administration did make apologies for the Special Olympics, but, don't you think he dropped the ball on the British Prime Minister's first visit Evil?

[cynicalfoe]

I found this a little amusing.
The Chicago Bulls a day before they played visited the white house and got to meet President Obama. They received some parting gifts which included a coffee mug that had Executive Branch on the side. On the bottom of the cup was "Made in China". So much for buy American.
The other issue of the Special Olympics comment is not a big deal and it was funny. The media however will blow it out of proportion as they normally do.

[HoosierHelen]

I found this a little amusing.
The Chicago Bulls a day before they played visited the white house and got to meet President Obama. They received some parting gifts which included a coffee mug that had Executive Branch on the side. On the bottom of the cup was "Made in China". So much for buy American.
The other issue of the Special Olympics comment is not a big deal and it was funny. The media however will blow it out of proportion as they normally do.

Yes, I agree the media will overplay this. However, the omission of a signifigant gift exchage with Great Britain, didn't set well with me. There is so much I like about Obama..but this one..is a very important function of his office...I sure hope he gets up to speed QUICKLY.

The respect owed to our allies is of ultimate importance...I would suggest more important than Obama being tired and not having time for a formal dinner function from the British Prime Minister? When I read his choice of a gift exchange, I was agast! Keep in mind this is my Presidential Candidate ..so criticisim doesn't come easly for me.

I'm simply sharing my reaction....

[evilkumquat]

To be honest, I haven't taken the time to read up on the article.

In fact, I haven't even seen anything in the press regarding any "snub" of the British Prime Minister by Obama, and I peruse the news reasonably often during the course of the day. I can only assume it is something Obama's enemies are dredging up to try and discredit him (remember all those "Obama doesn't salute the flag" stories that circulated before the election?).

Having said this, I do know that the office of the Presidency has certain legal guidelines as to what they can accept as gifts (usually up to a certain dollar amount).

Is it possible that the White House was simply honoring the same type of law (if it exists) for his English counterpart?

ON EDIT:

Yeah, the blog Helen linked is a Pajama Media writer, and that's pretty much a Right Wing organization.

I did find a few more legitimate (more likely to be fair) sites that also called out Obama on the "snub", but I also found this interesting article defending the President:

http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonsob...0-398c68de98ed

This is the money quote from that piece: If you want to be loved all the time, you are bound to feel slighted when you are just treated normally. Really it’s Britain’s supine supersensitivity which has created this snub out of a few unimportant trifles.

[james_t]

This is the money quote from that piece: If you want to be loved all the time, you are bound to feel slighted when you are just treated normally. Really it’s Britain’s supine supersensitivity which has created this snub out of a few unimportant trifles.

I may need some clarification here.

Bush gets scorn for choking on a pretzel, but when Obama slights another head of state, it's the other country's fault for being too sensitive?

Seems a bit inconsistent.

[HoosierHelen]

Personally, I found the lack of a formal dinner and press conference unusual for this type of a visit. I'm left feeling....huh?

I hardly believe it was an oversite, Obama is sharper than that, his logic for this is escaping me for now. It was noteworthy for me, and I'll wait and see if it makes sence to me later?

[LuciusBeebe]

****** if he do
****** if he don't

[evilkumquat]

I may need some clarification here.

Bush gets scorn for choking on a pretzel, but when Obama slights another head of state, it's the other country's fault for being too sensitive?

Seems a bit inconsistent.

I really don't see the connection between mocking Bush for allegedly choking on a pretzel and Obama getting criticized (admittedly mostly by his regular critics) for a political snub of a lame-duck foreign head of state.

But since you brought it up, how many of us, in the comfort of our living rooms, choked on anything enough that we actually tore up our face falling?

Frankly, many have come to wonder of that whole pretzel moment was really an inept way of disguising the fact he fell and injured himself while drunk... which frankly fits the facts better than "choking on a pretzel".

This was an administration known for its lies, after all. Is it so far beyond the realm of possibility that Bush's handlers, desperate to explain the injuries on the President's face the next day at a news conference, would concoct a story about an alleged choking incident in an attempt to show the "human" side of the man-child?

[HoosierHelen]

Evil,

You know I am an Obama supporter...I'm not trying to find fault, I'm trying to understand.

Do you believe he ommitted the formalities because Brown is a lame duck Prime Minister? I can't help myself...I just keep speculating. It truely didn't fit with past protocol.

[cynicalfoe]

I really don't see the connection between mocking Bush for allegedly choking on a pretzel and Obama getting criticized (admittedly mostly by his regular critics) for a political snub of a lame-duck foreign head of state.

But since you brought it up, how many of us, in the comfort of our living rooms, choked on anything enough that we actually tore up our face falling?

Frankly, many have come to wonder of that whole pretzel moment was really an inept way of disguising the fact he fell and injured himself while drunk... which frankly fits the facts better than "choking on a pretzel".

This was an administration known for its lies, after all. Is it so far beyond the realm of possibility that Bush's handlers, desperate to explain the injuries on the President's face the next day at a news conference, would concoct a story about an alleged choking incident in an attempt to show the "human" side of the man-child?

I think you are missing the obvious. Obama is an idiot and he is trying to break ties with the British and will do the same with Israel. This will make him appear more favorable to those wonderful countries including Iran that we have occupied the last several years.

[LuciusBeebe]

I think you are missing the obvious.



Obama is trying to break ties with the British.

Yeah.... obvious....

[evilkumquat]

Evil,

You know I am an Obama supporter...I'm not trying to find fault, I'm trying to understand.

Do you believe he ommitted the formalities because Brown is a lame duck Prime Minister? I can't help myself...I just keep speculating. It truely didn't fit with past protocol.

My best guess?

If it was meant to be political, Obama is sending a signal that, while the UK is important to our country, any Bush-friendly policies advanced by the outgoing PM doesn't sit well with his own administration.

However, why can't it simply be a full schedule that required Obama to cut short certain non-essential duties in order to find time for everyone wanting an audience? Surely it is understood by all that he and his Administration have a LOT on their hands.

This is one of those Catch-22 situations the President's political enemies love. If he made more time with the PM, that would have cut the time he would have spent with the other groups he was meeting with that day (the Boy Scouts or whoever it was- some youth group I think; I could be mistaken as I can't find the article I read where someone was complaining that Obama was too tired to spent a lot of time with Brown, but he had time later to meet with a "less important" group).

Had Obama shortened or canceled the latter group, his enemies would have pounced on it, saying the President "didn't have time for the little people", painting him as an elitist. Instead, they pounce on him for "snubbing" an "important" head of state, painting him as unprepared or unable to handle his duties.

[HoosierHelen]

I think you are missing the obvious. Obama is an idiot and he is trying to break ties with the British and will do the same with Israel. This will make him appear more favorable to those wonderful countries including Iran that we have occupied the last several years.

Not for a minute do I believe that he would break our ties with the British. However, I sincerely believe he does have a stragey behind this.

[LuciusBeebe]

Here's how I think it went:

1. The British are irrelevant
2. Obama did not focus on the irrelevant