This week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a visit to Washington DC, his first official visit with President Obama. Prime Minister Brown presented President Obama with 3 gifts (apparently gift giving is traditional at these things).
1) A pen holder made from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.
2) A framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. The President's Desk is made from the wood of this ship.
3) Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-British alliance.
Some very well thought out gifts of historical significance to say the least. What did Mr. Obama give Gordon Brown? A box set of 25 DVD's of Classic American Films...a neat gift, but nothing when compared to the gifts given by the British. The British Media, who was clamoring for Obama to be President is now miffed at the treatment Mr. Brown received in Washington. I guess Obama broke traditional protocol on press conferences and such as well.
This latest "snub" of sorts came on the heels of Obama returning a bust of Winston Churchill given to the US by the British shortly after September 11th. President Bush had this bust proudly displayed in the Oval Office. Apparently President Obama didn't want it anywhere in the White House or even in Washington DC. This really irritated the British.
As I recall, President Obama said during the election, that he was going to repair the image of the U.S. around the world, because Obama had so much diplomatic experience. Wait, he didn't have any diplomatic experience. But, he speaks well, so obviously he could repair our image...the image that was supposedly so tainted over the last 8 years. For a guy who claimed he could fix our "damaged" image, he seems to be having a lot of trouble just keeping the friends we have. The British have been our best ally for a long time, and Obama appears to be taking them for granted (at the very least).
A Master of Diplomacy indeed!
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1 comment:
I didn't know about the DVDs we presented to the British... So we traded a 'commentary' of history for actual 'pieces' of history??? I hope He knows how to give better gifts to his wife or we may have one sad president on Oct. 3
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