re-establishing international diplomacy

[Bret Callentine]

so, which was the better gift...

Obama giving Gordon Brown a gift basket of DVD's

or

Hillary Clinton giving the Russians a button that says "Overcharge"

I hope the White House staff remembered to purchase those DVD's in P.A.L. and not NTSC.

Classic.

[Bill Call]

so, which was the better gift...

Obama giving Gordon Brown a gift basket of DVD's

or

Hillary Clinton giving the Russians a button that says "Overcharge"

I hope the White House staff remembered to purchase those DVD's in P.A.L. and not NTSC.

Classic.

The reason given for the snub during the recent visit was that Obama was tired. The man has never had a job so I'm sure he was surprised to find that work was more than just showing up.

[Heather Ramsey]

The man has never had a job so I'm sure he was surprised to find that work was more than just showing up.

Seriously?!?! WTF?!?

[Charlie Page]

so, which was the better gift...

Obama giving Gordon Brown a gift basket of DVD's

or

Hillary Clinton giving the Russians a button that says "Overcharge"

Brown gave Obama "a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa" and "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. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet."

Obama's gift to Brown wins hands down. How thoughtless is 25 DVDs that can be bought at Wal-Mart? At least give Blu-ray.

[Bret Callentine]

man, this just keeps getting better and better.

Obama goes to London, meets the Queen, and gives her...

...a freakin' I-pod.

AN I-POD?????

holy crap, you've got to be kidding me.

Has he met with the President of France yet? Because I hear they make a really cool miniature Statue of Liberty piggy bank that seems like it would be PERFECT!!!

[Danielle Masters]

Ah but you forgot to mention that the Queen gave him a signed picture of herself which she gives to all dignitaries, so I guess the better choice would have been for him to give her a framed picture of himself. I bet you would have laughed at that too.

[Heather Ramsey]

I think that if anyone had bothered to find out what sort of gifts had been given and received in the past, we'd all realize that it seems as though they're pretty much always the equivalent of having Christmas with your extended family, who you don't really know. Every once in awhile, you get a really hideous piece of clothing that you'll never wear or a VHS of a show you hate when you don't even still own a VCR.

The question to me, aside from wondering why we're all suddenly talking about this, is why we do this at all, since (at least here) they don't even keep the gifts anyway...

[Bret Callentine]

Ah but you forgot to mention that the Queen gave him a signed picture of herself which she gives to all dignitaries,

yeah, the queen gave her traditional gift. Doing any less or any more would not (as they say across the pond) have been proper.

I do think the whole tradition is kind of goofy, but come on. an I-pod?

It's like he was thumbing throug the duty free in-flight shopping guide in Air Force One and said, "oh crap, I forgot to get the queen something. What do you think Michelle? The I-pod, or the automatic dog dish and water purifier?"

[Jim DeVito]

Is the gift he gives to foreign leaders really the biggest thing going on right now?

[Charlie Page]

The question to me, aside from wondering why we're all suddenly talking about this, is why we do this at all, since (at least here) they don't even keep the gifts anyway...

Gordon Brown probably left the dvd's as a tip for the maid. They weren't even the right location code. The queen probably gave the i-pod to one of her grandson's, who gave it to one of his friends because he already has five of them. I would bet Obama didn't even include a european adapter.

The gifts Obama received can't be bought at walmart or anywhere you or I shop. Why wouldn't he keep them (at least for his library in 4 or 8 more years)?

It's not about monetary value either. It's the thought that is put into selecting the gift, except from the queen (not much thought there but it's more than what Obama put into selecting an i-pod or a basket of dvd's).

[Heather Ramsey]

What I was referring to is that they don't get to keep anything once they leave office (unless it's above a certain amount and they buy it, which usually doesn't happen). I've also read about plenty of stupid shit we've received, that, yes, you could get from the equivalent of a Wal-Mart abroad.

[Brian Pedaci]

It was a "customized" iPod. Which probably means it was pre-loaded with the greatest hits of Queen, the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" and the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead".

[Bret Callentine]

Is the gift he gives to foreign leaders really the biggest thing going on right now?

quite the opposite. However, its one of the few things to smile about right now.

Kind of like Bush puking or Ford falling down some stairs.

[Lynn Farris]

Well it gets worse, the DVD's weren't the right format, so the Brown's couldn't use them. However they seem to be getting along very well. Mrs. Obama visited Mrs. Brown's favorite Charity and made a very nice impression and they talked about dinosaurs without worrying about creationism.

I thought the ipod was strange too - but it did feature clips of their last trip to the US and all the places they had been. They also gave a signed copy of Richard Roger's music - a composer the Queen likes.

I guess the Queen really liked Mrs. Obama - thought she was very down to earth and real and especially liked the fact that she was out making a vegetable garden with children. The Queen did say that now since they have met, she hopes Mrs. Obama keeps in touch.

Mrs. Obama is becoming quite the asset to her husband abroad. They are saying she is like Jackie Kennedy. A style setter, nice, easy to talk to etc. She is visiting schools and cancer centers.

Between the Obamas, Clinton, Holbrook, Mitchell and Biden the US has been spanning the globe making friends again. Having been out of the country recently - it is nice to see the image of the US rising once again.