Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com The Barnyard: Obama Flubs British P.M. Visit Because He Is An Incompetent Jerk

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Obama Flubs British P.M. Visit Because He Is An Incompetent Jerk

British Prime Minister paid the first formal meeting to Obama's Whitehouse and basically gets the cold shoulder and the Brits aren't very happy about the snub. Not only did Obama cancel a photo-op press joint conference he gave the Gordon Brown some very cheesy gifts after receiving some very thoughtful, very nice and very classy gifts from Brown. I would say this is not a helpful way to begin relations with a key American ally. This is from the Telegraph via Hot Air, you won't see it in our Obamedia.

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 formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy".

A British official conceded that the furore surrounding the apparent snub to Mr Brown had come as a shock to the White House. "I think it's right to say that their focus is elsewhere, on domestic affairs. A number of our US interlocutors said they couldn't quite understand the British concerns and didn't get what that was all about."

The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda.

"That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they're finding it a hard thing to do everything."

So Obama is too tired to properly fete one of our closest allies but he is not to tired to host weekly cocktail parties in the Whitehouse for his friends and serve them $100 lb. wagyu steaks while being entertained by Stevie Wonder. Maybe he should stop partying so hard and start concentrating on being President instead.

Now back to those gifts that were exchanged. PM Brown gave Obama a pen holder carved from timbers of the anti-slave warship the HMS Gannet along with the framed commission of her sister ship the HMS Resolute whose timbers form the desk Obama now sits behind and a first print seven volumn edition of a Churchill biography as well as showering the Obama's girls with gifts. What did the Obama's give in return, a cheesy boxed set of 25 American movie classic CDs and a couple toy Marine One helicopters from the Whitehouse gift shop.

To paraphrase Michelle Obama, for the first time in my adult life I am embarrassed for my country.

2 comments:

Fuzzy Slippers said...

Ugh! This is very embarrassing, to say the least. DVD's and toy helicopters from the friggin' gift shop? I do understand that he has a lot on his plate, but as you note, he's managing to find the time for all sorts of frivolous nonsense. He can't take the time to treat our strongest ally with due ceremony and respect? I'm astonished and appalled, but I must say that I'm not surprised. And I'm not surprised that I only heard of this via your blog (I did read the link to the Telegraph, thanks for posting that); the media here is a joke, and Obama could have literally slapped the British PM in the face (rather than figuratively as he so clearly did), and we'd never hear a peep about it. It really makes me ill.

Michael J. Bernard said...

Oh my god---he GETS a Churchill biography but sends back the Churchill bust because Churchill had some role in some conflict in Kenya back in the 1950's that had some long-forgotten effect on his grandfather....

stay classy Obama! haha

not only is he quite possibly LAZY, but a confirmed narcissist--and milking the crisis to propel his agenda of social spending while dragging his feet on actually addressing the financial crisis.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1543285/the_ploy_of_inaction.html?singlepage=true&cat=75

mB