Changing the nature of foreign relations
You know, when President Obama said he wanted to change our relations with other countries, I assumed he meant improve them, not make them worse.
The DVD/toy helicopter thing could be ascribed to a simple lack of communication—although the fact that those gifts were leaked by the White House is troubling—but the red button is crazy. There is a serious case of the emperor’s clothes there; somebody must have realized that giving a big red button to the Russians invoked symbolism best avoided. Has no one in the Clinton team seen a movie in the last thirty years? Doesn’t she know what red buttons are used for in international diplomacy?
- Barack Obama ‘too tired’ to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown
- The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key. The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: “There’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment.”
- To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies. Let’s hope he likes the Wizard of Oz
- “Marking the special relationship: The Browns put a lot of thought into their gifts for the Obamas—but the gesture did not seem to be reciprocated.”
- Obama’s blockbuster gift for Brown: 25 classic films
- “No10 had tried to keep the present a secret, refusing to answer reporters who asked what President Obama had given to mark the reaffirmation of the special relationship. However, the Evening Standard discovered the truth through White House insiders.”
- First Lady Michelle Obama shows even she has a gift for the gaffe
- “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.”
- Clinton seeks to press reset button on Russia ties
- “I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice-President Biden and I have been saying and that is: ‘We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together,” said Clinton, presenting Lavrov with a palm-sized yellow box with a red reset button. “We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?” Clinton asked. “You got it wrong,” said Lavrov, telling her “Peregruzka” meant “overcharge.”
- Obama the Cheapskate: 25 DVDs for Gordon Brown?
- “This seems like a rather deliberate insult, or at best diplomatic incompetence. It’s one thing to cheap out on a gift for a friend or relative at Christmas, but the British have stood by the US for many long decades, through some very dark times.”
Still Standing: Trump reassures crowd after assassination attempt fails. (read more…)
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