Posted by
Delos Howard on Monday, March 09, 2009 11:11:31 PM
Embarrassing
President Obama and his administration are embarrassing themselves and the American citizens when it comes to greeting dignitaries from another country. If Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of England is the standard, we are not going to have too many close friends around the globe. England has been a close allied to America; it is the only country that has honesty shed blood in the war on terrorism with America regardless were you stand on the war. England has been there with America through thick and thin.
The Prime Minister of England Gordon Brown comes to America to meet with President Obama, he gets disrespected by the gifts he, his wife, and children are given. I know there is an old saying; it is not the price of the gift, but the thought that counts. Neither President Obama nor his staff put any thought in the gifts that was given to the Prime Minister and his family.
You can tell the gift that Gordon Brown gave President Obama was well thought out. Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave President Obama an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship. HMS Gannet.
It delighted President Obama because oak from the Gannet’s sister ship, HMS Resolute, was carved to make a desk that has sat in the Oval Office in the White House since 1880.
Obviously the gift is a symbol, recognition, and congratulation to President Obama for being the first black American president and how America and England shared in the struggles of slavery, and what England did to help curve it.
PM Brown and his wife presented gifts to the Obama children giving Sasha and Malia an outfit from Topshop (a high end UK female clothing store) and six children’s books by British authors which will be published in America.
What did President Obama and his wife give PM Brown, his wife, and children? Two models of the presidential helicopter, Marine one, items that could have been purchased in almost any gift shop in DC.
What was presented to PM Brown by President Obama? 25 DVDs that cannot be played in England because the UK uses DVDs which are Region 2 and video format PAL. America uses Region 1 NTSC which is obviously not compatible.
It is obvious no one in charge of the gift gathering for the PM thought this through or really didn’t care.
How ever President Obama feels about the PM, he didn’t deserve to be disrespected. This is a big sign of arrogance from Obama.